Authorities in Garvin County are trying to determine whether a man went too far in protesting the G.W. Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood after a chinchilla was found dead near the park's entrance and another was abandoned inside the zoo's gift shop.
The bizarre incident, which played out Sunday while the park in Wynnewood was open to the public, is under investigation by the Garvin County sheriff's office.
Law enforcement and zoo officials are blaming the chinchilla's death on unnamed animal rights activists.
Zoo Manager John Reinke said park visitors who saw the incident unfold Sunday told him that a man, woman and apparently some children were making some kind of video showing a dead chinchilla near the park's entrance.
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“Some time after that, a guy came in with another chinchilla and asked if we could take it ... that he was moving and couldn't take care of it anymore.”
Reinke said the zoo “didn't really want it or need it” but the man — who wore a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses in the images captured on the park's surveillance cameras — insisted they take the chinchilla.
“He said, ‘What if I make a donation?'” Reinke said. “He went out to his car — he said to get his wallet — but he never came back inside.
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