Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl who got out of Central Park Zoo in New York City last year and gave hope to many people, has died. He hit an apartment building and passed away.
Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society
Flaco, a much-loved Eurasian eagle owl, became famous worldwide after escaping from New York City’s Central Park Zoo and avoiding capture last year. Sadly, officials report that he has died after hitting a building in Manhattan.
“We are sad to say that Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl who went missing from Central Park Zoo over a year ago when his exhibit was damaged, has passed away. It seems he collided with a building on West 89th Street in Manhattan,” the Wildlife Conservation Society, a nonprofit that takes care of the zoo, announced in a press release on Friday.
Flaco, the famous bird, lived in the zoo for 12 years until someone set him free. At first, the zoo tried to catch him again, thinking he wouldn’t survive outside. But Flaco surprised everyone by thriving in the city. He became a favorite among the people, often seen sitting on fire escapes and looking through windows.
Rita McMahon, the director of Wild Bird Fund, said, “Everyone felt a connection to that bird, and he was an amazing ambassador. He inspired us all just by living his life.”
Flaco’s story showed how strong and free he was, and his bright orange eyes meant a lot to many New Yorkers. When he died, people felt a lot of love and sadness. They gathered around his favorite oak tree in Central Park to say goodbye. Flaco helped city folks feel closer to nature and animals in the middle of all the buildings.
“At a time when things are tough all around the world, this bird gave us hope and brought many of us together,” said Breanne Delgado at the gathering.
Margaret Renkl, who writes for the New York Times, pointed out an important lesson we can learn from Flaco: “Wild animals are not our enemies. They are our neighbors. Every owl is like Flaco. If we think about how we’re losing different kinds of animals, like toads, rabbits, squirrels, and all the rest, they’re all like Flaco. We just need to learn to care about them as much as we cared about him.”
“Every toad, rabbit, squirrel, fox, coyote, goldfinch, cricket, lacewing, and roly-poly— they could all be like Flaco. We just need to learn to care about them as much as we cared about him.”
Flaco passed away on Friday, February 23, after it seems he hit a building on the Upper West Side. While the first check suggests he died from injuries from the impact, they’re doing more tests to see if anything else caused his death.
The Central Park Zoo said they’ll check Flaco’s body by looking at tiny pieces of tissue under a microscope, testing for poisons like rat poison, and seeing if he had any diseases like West Nile Virus or Avian Influenza.
Flaco’s story sadly ends like many other birds in cities across America. Every year, up to two billion birds die from hitting windows. In New York City alone, about a quarter of a million birds collide with windows.
To remember Flaco, lawmakers are working on two laws to help keep birds safe in New York. One of them, called the Bird Safe Buildings Act, is now called the FLACO Act, which stands for “Feathered Lives Also Count” Act. If this law passes, any new or big changes to state buildings must have bird-friendly designs, especially for their windows.
The other law is called the Dark Skies Protection Act, and it’s meant to lessen light pollution in New York City. Last year, the city made a rule that city-owned buildings must turn off their lights at night during bird migration months in April and mid-May. The DSP Act wants to make this rule apply to commercial buildings too. A study in Chicago found that turning off half the lights in big buildings can make bird collisions six to eleven times less likely.
Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement, “I’m really sad about Flaco the owl’s death. He brought joy to many New Yorkers in Central Park. His death, from hitting a glass window, shows why we need sensible laws to prevent birds from hitting windows. Every year, millions of birds, like Flaco, die because of this.”
He also said, “If we rename our law to make state buildings bird-friendly, it won’t just honor Flaco, but it might also encourage other lawmakers to pass both the FLACO Act and the Dark Skies Protection Act.”
Jessica Wilson, who runs NYC Audubon, a group that protects wild birds and where they live, said, “Birds are really important for a healthy environment, and birds like Flaco show us how amazing they are. Just turning off lights at night and making windows safer for birds can make the environment better for both birds and people.”
Elizabeth, the founder of Species Unite, recently talked with ecologist and author Carl Safina about his latest book, “Alife and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe.” It’s a story about saving a baby owl, seeing her grow, and the lessons he learned from her and himself. It’s also about how we connect with nature and the wonderful things around us. You can listen to the whole podcast episode here.
