Flaco the Owl Who Captured New Yorkers Hearts Dies in Collision with Bldg on UWS
Vandals had cut through the mesh of his enclosure in the Central Park Zoo on Feb. 2, 2023. At first the Wildlife Conservation Society feared he would perish quickly. But he settled and survived in the wild staying mostly in Central Park where he attracted a big fan base. His death was blamed on hitting a building on W. 89th St.
He had never intended to escape, but when vandals cut through the thin mesh cage where he spent most of his life in the Central Park Zoo, on Feb. 2, 2023, he fled and spent over a year in the wild.
We are saddened to report that Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl discovered missing from the Central Park Zoo after his exhibit was vandalized just over a year ago, is dead after an apparent collision with a building on West 89th Street in Manhattan.
The downed owl was reported to the Wild Bird Fund (WBF) by people in the building. Staff from the WBF quickly responded, retrieved the non-responsive owl and declared him dead shortly afterward. The WBF notified zoo staff who picked up the bird and transported him to the Bronx Zoo for necropsy.
But on Feb. 23, he was discovered on the pavement outside a building on W. 89th St. The Wild Bird Fund was called but he could not be saved.
“The downed owl was reported to the Wild Bird Fund (WBF) by people in the building,” the WCS which administers the Central Park Zoo said in a statement. “Staff from the WBF quickly responded, retrieved the non-responsive owl and declared him dead shortly afterward. The WBF notified zoo staff who picked up the bird and transported him to the Bronx Zoo for necropsy.
The WCS also called out the person or persons who ripped the mesh cage that allowed the owl to escape originally. “The vandal who damaged Flaco’s exhibit jeopardized the safety of the bird and is ultimately responsible for his death,” the WCS stated. “We are still hopeful that the NYPD, which is investigating the vandalism, will ultimately make an arrest.”
When he initially flew his coop a little more than a year ago, the WCS feared he would be unable to survive in the wild since he had spent most of 14 years in captivity. Initially, in the days after his escape, the WCS tried to recapture him, worried that he would not be able to hunt and that the urban environment would pose many new dangers–from ingesting rat poison in his prey to getting hit by a vehicle or hitting a building or window. But he delighted bird watchers and average New Yorkers alike as he survived, staying mostly in Central Park, but occasionally roaming to perches in the East Village and on the Upper East Side.
The initial autopsy result released Feb. 24 said Flaco died of acute traumatic injury. But further tests will be conducted to see if had ingested toxins or was suffering from a disease that could have impacted his ability to navigate the concrete and steel canyons of the city.