Flaco the Owl, an extraordinary bird beloved by many, was found dead on February 23, 2024. Flaco collided into a building in New York on a despondent Friday night, leaving everyone to ask “how could this have happened?”
Credit: David Lei via AP
Flaco was famously freed from his confinement at Central Park due to a vandalizer who cut the stainless steel. Flaco, now being free, would fly through Central Park- feasting on pigeons and rats. Bystanders speculate if New York City was a death trap for Flaco. For one, a quarter of a million birds a year die from crashing into New York City buildings, it is likely that Flaco shared the same fate. Additionally, as the autopsy progresses, we have discovered that the head injury was not the only leading cause to Flaco’s death. It was reported that Flaco ingested toxins that would eventually build up to his seemingly inevitable death. Nonetheless, the Wildlife Conservation Society claims that the vandalizer holds ultimate responsibility for Flaco’s passing, saying, “We are still hopeful that the NYPD, which is investigating the vandalism, will ultimately make an arrest.”
Through all the theories, claims, and new information circulating around, one thing stands to be true, we all mourn for Flaco’s death- wishing him farewell as he ascends to a better place. James Eyering, a retired environmental scientist professor at Pace University, states “He was a Eurasian Eagle Owl in the middle of Manhattan, it is a shame that he died, and managed to gather quite a large community of people in such a short time.”