Current:Home > ScamsCelebrity owl Flaco dies a year after becoming beloved by New York City for zoo escape -Wealth Navigators Hub
Celebrity owl Flaco dies a year after becoming beloved by New York City for zoo escape
View
Date:2025-04-26 12:04:38
NEW YORK (AP) — Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from New York City’s Central Park Zoo and became one of the city’s most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan, has died, zoo officials announced Friday.
A little over one year after he was freed from his cage at the zoo in a criminal act that has yet to be solved, Flaco appears to have collided with an Upper West Side building, the zoo said in a statement.
This photo provided by Jacqueline Emery shows Flaco the owl, Aug. 18, 2023, in New York. (Courtesy Jacqueline Emery via AP)
“The vandal who damaged Flaco’s exhibit jeopardized the safety of the bird and is ultimately responsible for his death,” the statement said. “We are still hopeful that the NYPD which is investigating the vandalism will ultimately make an arrest.”
Staff from the Wild Bird Fund, a wildlife rehabilitation center, responded to the scene and declared Flaco dead shortly after the collision. He was taken to the Bronx Zoo for a necropsy.
“We hoped only to see Flaco hooting wildly from the top of our local water tower, never in the clinic,” the World Bird Fund wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Flaco’s time in the sky began on Feb. 2, 2023, when someone breached a waist-high fence and slipped into the Central Park Zoo. Once inside, they cut a hole through a steel mesh cage, freeing the owl that had arrived at the zoo as a fledgling 13 years earlier.
Since the zoo suspended efforts to re-capture Flaco in February 2023, there has been no public information about the crime.
Until now, Flaco had defied the odds, thriving in the urban jungle despite a lifetime in captivity. He became one of the city’s most beloved characters. By day he lounged in Manhattan’s courtyards and parks or perches on fire escapes. He spent his nights hooting atop water towers and preying on the city’s abundant rats.
He was known for turning up unexpectedly at New Yorkers’ windows and was tracked around the Big Apple by bird watchers. His death prompted an outpouring of grief on social media Friday night.
This photo provided by David Lei shows Flaco the owl, Jan. 3, 2024, in New York. (Courtesy David Lei via AP)
One of Flaco’s most dedicated observers, David Barrett, suggested a temporary memorial at the bird’s favorite oak tree in Central Park.
There, fellow birders could “lay flowers, leave a note, or just be with others who loved Flaco,” Barrett wrote in a post on X for the account Manhattan Bird Alert, which documented the bird’s whereabouts.
___
Associated Press Writer Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed.
veryGood! (53197)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Powerball winning numbers for March 2 drawing: Jackpot rises to over $440 million
- Rescue of truck driver dangling from bridge was a team effort, firefighter says
- Mikaela Shiffrin preparing to return from downhill crash at slalom race in Sweden this weekend
- Trump's 'stop
- Handcuffed Colorado man stunned by Taser settles lawsuit for $1.5 million, lawyers say
- Authorities say man who killed 2 in small Minnesota town didn’t know his victims
- How does 'the least affordable housing market in recent memory' look in your area? Check our map
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Who gets an Oscar invitation? Why even A-listers have to battle for the exclusive ticket
Ranking
- Sam Taylor
- American Airlines to buy 260 new planes from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer to meet growing demand
- Jason Kelce Tearfully Announces His Retirement From NFL After 13 Seasons
- Minnesota is poised to give school resource officers clearer authority to use force
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Latest attempt to chip away at ‘Obamacare’ questions preventive health care
- New York City nearly resolves delays in benefits to thousands of low income residents, mayor says
- The 'Wiseman' Paul Heyman named first inductee of 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
2024 MLS All-Star Game set for July vs. Liga MX. Tickets on sale soon. Here's where to buy
How Taylor Swift Is Related to Fellow Tortured Poet Emily Dickinson
NLRB official denies Dartmouth request to reopen basketball union case. Players to vote Tuesday
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Ashley Tisdale Reveals How Her 2-Year-Old Daughter Was Mistakenly Taught the F-Word
The owners of a Christian boarding school in Missouri are jailed and charged with kidnapping crimes
Blizzard aftermath in California's Sierra Nevada to bring more unstable weather