Flaco, Owl Who Escaped Zoo And Soared New York City Skies, Has Died

Flaco, an owl who became a New York City icon after he flew the coop at the Central Park Zoo last year, has died.

“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 Wildlife Conservation Society, a nonprofit that manages the zoo, said in a press release Friday.

Flaco appeared to have collided with a window, according to the Wild Bird Fund, a wildlife rehabilitation center that attempted to save the owl after the accident.

“We hoped only to see Flaco hooting wildly from the top of our local water tower, never in the clinic,” the nonprofit wrote.

Millions of birds are estimated to die every year by crashing into reflective glass windows ― a reason that environmental groups advocate for using bird-safe glass or taking other steps to deter collisions.

In Flaco’s case, the Wild Bird Fund noted that it’s not yet clear whether he was also suffering from the effects of rodenticide, which can build up in the bodies of predators that eat poisoned mice and rats. In 2021, a female owl named Barry was hit by a van in Central Park and was later found to have high levels of rat poison in her system, which likely impaired her ability to fly.

Flaco left his zoo enclosure behind on Feb. 2 of last year, after a still-unidentified person cut the mesh that had prevented him from flying away.

The owl had been born in captivity and arrived at the zoo as a fledgling. He remained there for 13 years before escaping and taking up residence in the surrounding trees of Central Park.

Since he had never lived in the wild, his escape was immediately