Erik Cowie, a zookeeper who featured in Netflix's Tiger King, was found dead on September 3 aged 53.
The hit show's star's cause of death has been announced, as the New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has disclosed that Cowie died of "acute and chronic alcohol use," People reports.
According to NBC News 4 New York, Cowie was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment bedroom at 5:30PM local time and was unconscious when first responders arrived on the scene.
He was one of the zookeepers who looked after the exotic animals at the now-defunct Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma that was featured in the hit series.
The park was formerly owned by Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence for plotting to kill Carole Baskin, and for wildlife violations.
Earlier this year, Cowie opened up about his regrets working with Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage. He claimed that he felt guilty after being instructed to put down animals unnecessarily.
"It's been in the back of my head," Cowie said at the time. "I think about it a lot — a lot of times when we put cats down, they used me because just my appearance or my voice [meant] I could get a cat up the side of the cage where we can dart it and tranquilize it.
"Those cats trusted me up until the end. Sometimes, I swear they're like, 'Dude you let me down.'"
In the series, Cowie said he found the job on Craiglist and was desperate for work.
Earlier this year, Cowie told Daily Mail that he witnessed Exotic kill over 100 tigers and claimed many of the big cats actually despised the larger-than-life star.
"Joe only cared about them in a monetary way," Cowie of the big cats, adding that one lion in particular lion hated Exotic so much it "would try to chew through the cage to get at him."
"I learned a lot from Joe, mostly on not what to do," he added.
Our thoughts are with Cowie's family and friends at this time.
