The sad end of 'Flaco', the raptor who spent a year searching and capturing in New York

Since he escaped a year ago, the memory of

Flaco

, the most famous inhabitant of the Central Park Zoo, has fueled the imagination of New Yorkers who visit the green lung of Manhattan.

Armed with binoculars, telephoto lenses and patience, groups of ornithologists and amateur photographers, as well as curious onlookers, looked towards the treetops in case the fugitive suddenly planted his statue-like pose in a chyma.

His reappearance here and there, from an oak to an elm, was regular news on the networks, with photos of the sighting, while an X account (formerly Twitter) attested to his wanderings.

Until last Friday, the 13-year-old Eurasian eagle owl met its death when it crashed into a building on West 89th Street in mid-flight.

“We are saddened to report that

Flaco

, the Eurasian eagle owl missing from the Central Park Zoo after the enclosure [where he lived] was vandalized just over a year ago, has died following an apparent collision with a building in the area. West 89th Street in Manhattan,” the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement.

Flaco

had become a symbol of the survival of wildlife in a city that is also wild for the creatures that inhabit it, human and animal.

During a year in freedom he proved that those who gave him only a few days to live because he was not able to feed himself or protect himself were wrong: for twelve months, he managed to live - and fly - on his own.

His story is also a reminder of the rich fauna of a city subjected to asphalt and fences.

On Friday at around 5:30 p.m., he was found, still alive, by a resident of the building on the aforementioned street, who coincidentally turned out to be a veteran bird watcher (a very widespread hobby among New Yorkers).

“He was lying face down, in front of the basement door that leads to the patio of our building.

It was not a pleasant sight at all,” the dismayed man told reporters.

He was still flapping his wings, and the neighbor urgently called the Wild Bird Fund, a wildlife rehabilitation center, some of whose members rushed to the scene.

They couldn't do anything to save him.

The bird's body was taken to the Bronx Zoo for a necropsy.

When he fled the zoo, on February 2, 2023, tributes were raised in the park.

Next to the pond on East 72nd Street, postcards, stuffed animals, flowers, candles and bows sprouted, along with loving and supportive messages left by passersby, who referred to

Flaco

as if he were a member of the family.

When the hooligans allegedly cut the metal mesh that protected him,

Flaco

won freedom, and the New Yorkers, a symbol: that of a longing once satisfied.

The close bond that New Yorkers have with animals (wild or domestic) is well-known: in an unidentified place in the park, which is only discovered by pure chance, with lost steps, there is a tree converted into a secret memorial where tribute is paid to cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters and other creatures that shared their lives with humans.

It is more or less called the Pet Memorial Christmas Tree, and receives offerings in the period between Thanksgiving and Three Kings Day.

A street artist dedicates a mural to the Flaco owl, this Sunday in Manhattan.

BING GUAN (REUTERS)

From her

profile

on

As if it were necessary to encourage them... Since her escape, she was the number one target of the numerous groups of ornithologists and photographers who tour the park daily.

The photos that reflected her appearances in different trees spread like wildfire on the networks, as well as on the numerous community information portals.

Catching

Flaco

perched on a tree, with his scrutinizing predatory eyes, was like winning the jackpot in a raffle.

Little by little, she ventured beyond the trees and, insolent, was seen on fire escapes and ledges, sometimes even looking out of windows in buildings that surround the park.

Her plumage soon found a home on sweatshirts, coffee mugs and stickers, among other marketing.

Flaco

spent a year in search and capture, although no

sheriff

issued any order.

It was about returning him to the comfortable and maintained fold of the zoo to keep him away from the dangers that every city implies, from power lines to the action of any vermin.

The closest attempt came from the New York police themselves, who described their failed rescue operation as “an adventure”: “We tried to help this little know-it-all, but he got fed up with his growing audience and flew away.”

The owl escaped from the zoo just over a year ago after hooligans damaged the mesh enclosure where he lived.

“The vandal who damaged Flaco

's abode

endangered the bird's safety and is ultimately responsible for his death,” WCS said in a statement.

“We are still hopeful that the NYPD, who is investigating the attack, will arrest someone.”

His disappearance follows another sad event: the recent death by run-over of the bald eagle

Rover

, another of New York's best-known residents, on a ring road.

In his last posthumous message on Leave a note, or just share some time with others who loved me.”

Next Saturday an event will be held there in memory of him.

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