NEW YORK — Tributes poured in Saturday for Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle owl who became a feel-good New York story after he escaped from the Central Park Zoo enclosure and flew freely around Manhattan.
Flaco was found dead on a sidewalk in New York City on Friday evening after apparently flying into a building. It was a heartbreaking end for the birdwatchers who documented the owl’s daily movements and for the legions of admirers who eagerly followed its lead.
“Everyone feels the same, they’re devastated,” said Nicole Blair, a New York City artist who devoted much of her feed on the X platform to photos and memes of the famous owl with checkerboard black and brown feathers and round sunset tinted eyes.
Employees of the Wild Bird Fund, a wildlife rehabilitation center, pronounced Flaco dead shortly after the collision. A necropsy was expected on Saturday.
Flaco was freed from his cage at the zoo just over a year ago by a vandal who broke through a waist-high fence and cut a hole through a steel mesh cage. The owl had arrived at the zoo thirteen years earlier as a young animal.
Flaco sightings quickly became a sport. The owl spent its days perched on tree branches, fence posts and fire escapes, while at night it hooted on water towers and preyed on the city’s plentiful rats.
Like a true celebrity, the owl appeared on murals and merchandise. A likeness was featured in a spot on Blair’s New York City-themed Christmas tree, right next to “Pizza Rat,” the infamous rodent seen in a YouTube clip dragging a section of subway stairs.
“I saw him on my birthday,” Blair said of meeting Flaco in Central Park in the fall. “It was an incredible situation, and I think this is the best birthday present ever.”
But she and others became concerned when Flaco ventured beyond the park into more urban parts of Manhattan, fearing the owl might swallow a poisoned rat or face other dangers.
“The vandal who damaged Flaco’s exhibit endangered the bird’s safety and is ultimately responsible for its death,” the zoo said in a statement Friday. “We remain hopeful that the NYPD, which is investigating the vandalism, will ultimately make an arrest.”
Flaco fans shared suggestions on Saturday for a permanent bronze statue overlooking New York City. One requested that the owl’s remains be buried in Central Park.
“Flaco the Owl was in many ways a quintessential New Yorker – fiercely independent, constantly exploring, finding ways to survive ever-changing challenges,” read a post on the X platform, which echoes a common sentiment. “He will be missed.”
David Barrett, who runs the Manhattan Bird Alert account, proposed a temporary memorial at the bird’s favorite oak tree in the park.
There, he wrote in a post, fellow birdwatchers could “lay flowers, leave a note or just be with others who loved Flaco.”