The Oregon Zoo is stepping in to care for some neglected animals after more than 300 were seized from a roadside safari park on the Oregon Coast. 

Oregon State Police served search warrants at West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon on Thursday, May 15, part of what officials called a “lengthy criminal investigation” focused on animal care and welfare, permitting, licensing and business practices.

A report released in January revealed that the park was keeping a dead tiger in a freezer with turkeys stacked on top of it, which were still being served as food for other animals at the facility. According to the report, federal inspectors believed the tiger was in the freezer for several months.

Oregon State Police seized 310 animals from the safari park, which are being temporarily relocated to accredited or permitted animal sanctuaries or rescue facilities, including the Oregon Zoo and Wildlife Safari in Winston, according to KVAL.

So far, at least three animals — a camel, a chicken and a kinkajou, which is a small tropical rainforest mammal — have been humanely euthanized due to their physical and medical conditions, according to state police.

Hova Najarian, an Oregon zoo spokesperson, did not say how many animals the Oregon Zoo was caring for from West Coast Game Park Safari, but confirmed to the Portland Tribune on Thursday, May 22, that the zoo is “temporarily caring for a few of these animals.” Najarian added that these animals would not be rehomed at the Oregon Zoo and could not disclose which animals were being cared for.

Laura Klink, a spokeswoman at the Oregon Humane Society, said the organization’s law enforcement team is investigating the suspected animal neglect at the park, including a lack of veterinary care, food, adequate shelter or other care sufficient to preserve the health and well-being of the animals. Agencies, including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Humane Society, assessed the seized animals and helped to find temporary homes for them during the investigation.

“This has been a huge, multi-agency effort,” Klink said in an email.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Care unit started routine inspections of West Coast Game Park Safari about a decade ago. The earliest citations discuss needed care for a black leopard and two alpacas in September 2015, and a juvenile black bear with hair loss across its chest, the back of the ears and around its eyes in October 2015.

“This and the previous inspection are indicating a possible pattern of personnel not performing adequate daily assessment of animal health and communicating that information to supervisors and the attending veterinarian,” the October 2015 inspection report read.

Federal inspectors visited the park 32 times over the past 10 years, with seven visits in 2024. On a visit to the park on Dec. 3, 2024, Pharoh, a 10-year-old lion, was reported as having his “ribs showing, spine visible, jutting hip bones and muscle wasting.” A 15-year-old black leopard named Onyx was reported as “quite thin with rib shadowing, and noticeable muscle wasting of his head and body.”

Other adult lions, along with Onyx, were reported again in April 2025 with decreased muscle mass and their spines prominently displayed under their skin.

The reports were all received by the West Coast Game Park Safari’s owner, licensee or facility representative, according to the paperwork on file.

This story is developing and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.