Owl that escaped from the New York Zoo has become a local celebrity

An owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo after someone damaged its cage has become New York’s latest bird celebrity, attracting onlookers to view the park from one tall tree or another, but raising fears that it doesn’t know how to hunt and will die with hunger.

The owl, a Eurasian owl named Flaco, escaped on February 2, zoo spokesman Max Pulcinelli said in a press release the next day. “The exhibition was vandalized and the stainless steel mesh was cut,” Pulcinelli said. “Upon notification, a team was mobilized to search for the bird.”

Flaco flew out of the zoo to the nearby Fifth Avenue mall, where the police tried to catch him, but were unsuccessful.

ESCAPE OWL FROM NEW YORK ZOO Baffles LOCAL AUTHORITIES

He returned to Central Park the next morning and has since been spotted at various locations in the southeast section of the park. Flaco spent some of his time on the grounds of the zoo he had escaped from, but he did not return to captivity on his own.

Zoo officials said last week they were trying to bring Flaco back, but have not released any updates on their efforts since.

Nobody saw Flaco eat for six days on the run, said David Barrett, who maintains Twitter accounts including Manhattan Bird Alert, Brooklyn Bird Alert and Bronx Bird Alert.

Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that escaped from its enclosure at the Central Park Zoo on February 2, has become a local celebrity in New York City.

Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that escaped from its enclosure at the Central Park Zoo on February 2, has become a local celebrity in New York City. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

On Wednesday, Flaco watched the skaters at the Wallman Ice Rink from an oak tree in the Hallett Nature Reserve. A small crowd watched from a respectful distance.

“I just want to see how he’s doing,” retired medic Gig Palileo said as she studied the owl through a camera lens. “I’m a nurse, so I always ask, ‘Are your eyes still on?’

Palileo said she was saddened that “someone let this guy go without even thinking about the consequences… He probably doesn’t know how to hunt.”

Kenny Quick, a retired corrections officer for the state prison system, was more optimistic about the owl’s survival in the wild. “I think he can survive,” Kwiok said. “If he has learned to fly, I think he can learn to hunt as well.”

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Quick called Flaco a “celebrity,” like the brightly plumed mandarin duck that dazzled park visitors a few years ago. “He was a star,” Kwiok said. “He was Brad Pitt for Central Park.”

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Eurasian Eagle Owl is one of the largest owl species, with a wingspan of up to 79 inches. They have large claws and distinctive ear tufts.

Like the mandarin duck, the Eurasian eagle owl is not native to North America, but native owl species, including great horned owls and barred owls, frequent Central Park, where they dine on rats, mice, and smaller birds.

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Dustin Partridge, director of conservation and science for NYC Audubon, said he hopes Flaco’s plight will raise awareness of the runaway bird’s wild cousins. “The city is full of owls,” Partridge said. “If you’ve never seen owls, they are majestic creatures.”

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