The Magnificent Flaco Remains Free, and He’s Loving It

This week the Central Park Zoo suspended its attempts to capture Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that had been sprung from his confines at the zoo by vandals earlier this month.

Zoo staff had feared that Flaco would not survive on his own, as he had been raised in captivity and had no hunting skills. But the 13-year-old Flaco developed such skills in a hurry and has been observed devouring the park’s rats for weeks. The stately raptor has kept close to the zoo perched in nearby trees, but is reportedly expanding his domain (pictured here atop the park’s Naumberg Bandshell, several blocks north of the zoo).

“We are going to continue monitoring Flaco and his activities and to be prepared to resume recovery efforts if he shows any sign of difficulty or distress,” the zoo said in a statement.

Flaco is apparently just fine with his new life, but there is a fear that he might ingest rats loaded with rodenticide or swoop into harm’s way in vehicular traffic. (Or both. Such was the fate of Barry the Owl, another Central Park celebrity.)

For now, though, this magnificent bird is living large.

Photo credit: David Lei via Twitter