Flaco the Owl Still on the Loose in Central Park

Birders in New York City are out in force in Central Park, braving the coldest temperatures of the winter for the chance to spot Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl that had escaped from the Central Park Zoo. The majestic bird had been sprung from his enclosure on Thursday night, apparently by vandals with cable-cutters.

The Central Park Zoo issued a statement on Friday:

“A Eurasian eagle owl at Central Park Zoo was discovered missing from its exhibit at 8:30pm Thursday evening. The exhibit had been vandalized and the stainless steel mesh cut. Upon notification, a team was mobilized to search for the bird. Citizens and police spotted the owl on the sidewalk on 5th Avenue but it flew off.  Zoo staff located the owl perched in a tree near the zoo and stayed with it throughout the night. At sunrise this morning, the owl flew from the tree on 5th Avenue and into Central Park where we continue to have visual contact with the bird. Our focus and effort at this time is on the safe recovery of the owl. We will issue updates as needed.”

At this writing, the owl is in the southern part of the park, perching high in the treetops, out of reach of the zoo staff and park rangers hoping to capture a bird that is ill-equipped to survive in the wild. Since Flaco had been raised in captivity, he has no hunting skills and has little chance of finding food on his own.

We don’t know if the vandals had the best interests of Flaco in mind. They haven’t really set the big bird free, but they may have sentenced him to an untimely death. 

Photo credit: David Lei via Twitter