Flacco, the famous Central Park Zoo owl that went missing a year ago after vandalizing a bird exhibit, died Friday, zoo officials said.
The owl crashed into a building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, not far from Central Park, the zoo's operator, the Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a statement.
Those in the building contacted the World Bird Fund, and members of the rehabilitation center picked up the unresponsive bird around 7 p.m., the zoo said.
Flacco was pronounced dead a short time later and transferred to the Bronx Zoo for an autopsy. On Saturday, the Central Park Zoo released a statement on the initial findings, which it said were consistent with “death from severe traumatic injury” such as striking the building.
“The main impact appears to have been on the body,” it said.
Other findings will rely on toxicology tests that can reveal tissue samples, rodent or other toxins and test for infectious diseases, the zoo said. It said decisions based on those investigations could take weeks.
Collisions over buildings in New York City are estimated to kill more than 200,000 migratory birds annually, echoed by the nonprofit. NYC Audubon.
The owl went missing from its exhibit at the zoo in Central Park on the evening of February 2, 2023.
Someone cut the metal cage at Flacco's residence, allowing the majestic bird to roam the city, the Central Park Zoo said at the time.
The owl came to the zoo as a cub 13 years ago. Some were concerned about his ability to survive in the big city, but the zoo said Flacco ate plenty of prey.
“We observed him successfully hunting, capturing and consuming prey,” the Central Park Zoo said in a statement released 10 days after his disappearance. “We've seen rapid improvement in his flight skills and ability to confidently maneuver around the park.”
“People didn't expect him to survive,” said Jacqueline Emery, a birder who documented the owl's daily movements. Associated Press Earlier this month. “New Yorkers especially connect with him because of his resilience.”
Flacco was adept at surviving in the city, eluding authorities, first on the night of his flight on Fifth Avenue next to the park, and then several more times.
In the year since the breach, the owl has become a frequent and popular flyer around Manhattan, and a zoo statement at the time said, “There are a lot of eyes on Flaco.”
No one is responsible for cutting down the habitat.
Those who vandalized the exhibit were “ultimately responsible for his death,” the zoo said in its Friday statement.
“We remain hopeful that the NYPD, who is investigating the robbery, will eventually make an arrest,” it said.
The New York Police Department said in an email Saturday that the 2023 zoo violation remains under investigation and no arrests have been made.
