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Clay County hunts for man suspected of killing baby alpaca with junk food

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Creekside Animal Hospital has partnered with the Clay County Sheriff's Office to find a man seen endangering their animals by feeding them large amounts of human food.

STORYClay County alpaca dies after motorist feeds it Doritos, Cheese Nips

In a Facebook post, hospital administrators posted their youngest alpaca, Ollie, died Saturday from his injuries. It said in part, “It is with a heavy heart that we want to inform our clients and friends at the elementary school that our youngest alpaca that was born out on the shared field over a year ago has passed away.”

“We were just driving by and we see the guy just feeding the animals over there,” neighbor Milton Tirado said. He added that he has seen this man bring food on several different occasions.

Other witnesses saw a man dump several food items over the fence at on the hospital's field, including a bag of Doritos, two boxes of Cheese Nips, two bags of whole peanuts, and three boxes of animals crackers.

The hospital staff spent about 36 hours trying to save Ollie, who was just about one year old.

“I think it’s despicable myself,” neighbor Glenn Ankton said. “We’re supposed to be loving our animals and they’re feeding them junk food?”

Several neighbors, including Ankton and Tirado, told Action News Jax they witness people feeding the animals human food through the fence.

“People shouldn’t be feeding them,” Ankton said. “Maybe you should put a sign out there, ‘Don’t feed the animals,’ or stuff.”

Action News Jax asked hospital administrators details on the incident but they declined to comment at all. They referred us to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for further questions.

Clay County Sheriff’s Office told Action News Jax they are working with the hospital and they will share a report with Action News Jax if it becomes available.