Flaco the Escaped Central Park Zoo Owl Dies

The beloved owl, Flaco, has died. He became a celebrity after a vandal let him out of his cage at the Central Park Zoo. Flaco's life suddenly ended when he flew straight into the window of a high-rise building in Manhattan. His body was discovered on the sidewalk. A necropsy determined that the impact appeared to have been to the body since there was a substantial hemorrhage. A memorial for Flaco continues to grow beneath his favorite tree in Central Park.

[@awesomeguy9728]

Rest in peace Flaco.

[@kennethmenendez8872]

rip

[@caesar7734]

❤️🦉

[@Readysetgo2007]

💜 Flaco

[@thebestjax3]

He's not dead he with 2pac

[@CranberryFo]

It's a real mixed bag. On the one hand, it was cool that for a year he was "free" in the city and so many people loved seeing him visit their windows or hearing him out in the park. On the other hand, he wasn't in his natural environment and the rats he was catching weren't safe to eat. If a vandal hadn't let him out of his cage, he'd probably still be alive and well cared for. But he also would just be a regular zoo owl that nobody knew about other than zoo enthusiasts. I hope that his legacy helps give people a better appreciation and understanding of owls. That can be a positive thing to come out of this story.

[@starjen222]

Well said.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Yeah but I read he was living in a cage in the size of a bus stop. That felt like animal abuse to me, especially if they never let him out of the cage. The problem I see here is that horrible rat poison. They had Flaco, they could have stopped placing out rat poison. Release owls and stop with that poison I say.

[@franklam3056]

He died before his birthday too :((( it’s all the vandals fault!

[@estherbrown4084]

What about the idea of a more permanent memorial, perhaps in a similar style to the Duke, who is an evil owl of the animated movie Rock-A-Doodle by Don Bluth, and Barnaby the party ghost owl of the upcoming video-game Billie Bust Up?

[@thisisforvids]

@@Readysetgo2007Yes. It's complicated. People only cared because he was uncommon to the ecosystem. At the same time, rat poison isn't stopping rats but it is hurting flora and fauna. The common denominator is human opulence and poor stewardship.

[@Skunk..]

Rest in peace Flaco, you’re a beautiful animal and didn’t deserve to die that way.🩷

[@kitten1207]

Poor baby... I just read about him the other week for the first time and thought it was so neat that he's been on his own for this long and doing well...

[@Readysetgo2007]

Yeah I feel angry about the rat poison. He could have lived longer.

[@PALINDROMA.]

same : ( I just learned about him a few days ago and now I'm sad

[@janusn9]

He lived and died free. RIP lil buddy.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Yeah and could have lived longer without stupid people placing out rat poison.

[@Former_Pastor]

​@@Readysetgo2007 Agree, that's such a cruel way for anything to die 😢

[@Jaylin7878g]

@@Readysetgo2007Thats not even confirmed stop repeating everything you hear as if it is a fact.

[@thekamotodragon]

he'd still be alive if he wasn't free rn. Just sayin.

[@LindaC616]

​@@Readysetgo2007not confirmed yet

[@stanford-nf4jk]

Poor baby! I feared something like this would happen! Flaco touched many people’s hearts and sparked interest in birds and conservation! I’ll always be thankful for that. I’ll miss hearing about him. 🥺 🦉

[@creeperswitchgaming]

He's now ascended higher. Fly on, Flaco.

[@annabelleecho8056]

Nearly 1,000 migrating birds died after crashing into Chicago building. Workers at the Chicago Field Museum inspected the bodies of migrating birds that were killed when they flew into the windows of the McCormick Place Lakeside Center Oct 9, 2023. I also think that in Flaco’s case, the rat poison didn’t help his situation.

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

Contact your representatives. They were working on a bill for safer buildings, now renamed the Flaco Act. Decals on window glass is not impossible to do. If we can get it passed in NYS, the rest of the nation might pick up the idea. Contact your representatives ASAP. Bird safe glass is not so hard. Flaco deserves at least that much. Rest in Power Flaco. 🦉🦅🦉

[@Kelly-ml5tl]

Easily avoidable if they had etched images in the glass or decals the birds won't fly into the window if they see something there.

[@drunkenhobo5039]

It's funny how wind turbines killing birds is always the big issue, but buildings kill orders of magnitude more birds and you never hear about it. Almost as if one is a threat to some of the most powerful organisations on Earth!

[@winter2176]

RIP Flaco.❤ Can’t believe he passed away.

[@VitalityMassage]

It's very sad but I'm still glad that he got to be FREE for a while. Thank you Flaco.

[@jackietrujillo9612]

long live Flaco the owl we well never forget u. Ur a symbol of New York City. l hope they well make a statue of him or name Flaco Avenue for his honor. l miss u Flaco. ur in heaven flying around the sky. Rest ln Peace 🦉

[@Readysetgo2007]

He deserves a statue. 💜

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

He deserves a tree!! Plant more trees of the type that was his favorite. I think he had a favorite oak tree!! Rest in power, Flaco. We miss you already. 🦉🗽🦉

[@SlavaSesh]

He deserves to be forgotten.

[@djanime317]

At my job, there’s a long glass corridor that connects one building to the other, countless birds have flown into the glass thinking they can fly through and I’ve seen a lot of dead birds strewn about by the glass corridor, I feel so bad for Flaco, RIP 🙏🙏🙏

[@InkHyaena]

That's so awful... Was nothing ever done to prevent the birds from running into the glass? Like anything on it to help them see something was there?

[@danielp1629]

@@InkHyaenait’s a skyscraper dude

[@InkHyaena]

@@danielp1629 And? People can still put things on the inside to help the birds distinguish the windows.

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

Yeah, it's really about placing decals on the glass. Ask your representatives about the "Flaco Act" ( this bill was already in draft form, called the safer buildings act i believe, now renamed the "Flaco Act". ). Let's lower bird strikes in NYS and maybe nationwide. Bird safe glass is not that hard. Rest in power, Flaco. 🦉🗽🦉

[@truehappiness4U]

@@danielp1629people can put reflective stickers or dark stickers on windows or cheap special see through but colored business window foil inside the windows so birds can see the windows

[@somnuswaltz5586]

Sad news. Rest in peace little friend 🦉 ❤

[@kraftthisile9113]

All it takes is a simple window sticker to let the birds know it's a glass window.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Exactly!

[@brettbaker1229]

I didn't know there were specific stickers for preventing Birds from flying into glass 🤔 That's smart. Rest in Peace, Flaco.

[@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288]

Contact your representatives. There is a bill called the Flaco Act for bird safe buildings. Not at all hard to retrofit window glass with decals. If we can pass it in NYS, maybe the rest of the nation will pay attention. Rest in Power Flaco. 🦉🦅🦉

[@Nuttyirishman85]

All it takes is a bird not being stupid.

[@Readysetgo2007]

@@Nuttyirishman85 username checks out...

[@AustinPerez00]

Rest in peace, We love you, We will miss you.

[@E621_Rule34]

Nah we gonna forget by tommorow

[@prickly_procyonids]

I’d been telling people since he escaped that this would happen- people on social media relentlessly argued that he was thriving and happy. RIP Flaco, he died suffering due to human vanity and ego. The zoo should have never ceased capture efforts, and we all know they gave up so quickly because of public pressure to leave him “flying free”. I see the zoo is doing a necropsy. I would wager all I’m worth that he was severely underweight and sickly, which led him to loiter around windows (he was raised by humans and associated them with food) and eventually fly into one. You cannot gauge the weight of a bird just by looking at it- he could’ve been a skeleton under all those feathers. Him being sighted eating a few rats doesn’t mean he was able to eat enough to sustain a healthy body weight. This poor bird died because of ignorance. A human freed him from his enclosure, and the humans who were charged with caring for him abandoned him so disillusioned people could fantasize about him and make him a celebrity. These birds have a lifespan of up to 65 years in captivity. He died at an age a fraction of that, confused, sickly, and alone. Nobody can justify this. The zoo should be held accountable.

[@savage.4.24]

This. All of this. I knew he would 'eat a bad rat' happens to cats all the time there too. The vandal is now a murderer. The zoo failed him miserably. Some of us would scour the earth for our lost dog yet they couldn't be bothered to catch a publicly sighted unique bird?!

[@cesarcueto1995]

It's even more sad after reading this. That poor owl

[@shanewalters2565]

First of all, the zoo was closed when the vandalism happened. Second of all, despite the zoo's best efforts to capture him back, he became harder to track and so they just let him be. Don't go blaming the zoo for all this, blame the person that vandalized his enclosure

[@cesarcueto1995]

@@shanewalters2565 It doesn't much matter now that the owl is dead but they did give up

[@muscleman125]

recovering him would've been next to impossible bro. IDK if you live in the city or have ever been there, but it's not exactly a welcoming place for wildlife rescue operations. There's more private property than there is public streets and sidewalks in NYC. The moment he's not in a park or in a street, he's inaccessible to rescuers, even if they can see him on a rooftop or windowsill, they can't do anything to get to him legally.

[@Specogecko]

I’m happy he got to live free, hopefully this brings awareness to people on how we can make our cities safer for wildlife.

[@jamsng]

wild life cannot survive in a city! Humans barely can. That owl should have been re-caught by the zoo. He would have lived longer.

[@Specogecko]

@@jamsng wildlife can survive in a city… what kind of dumb logic is that… go outside in a city and you’ll see wildlife

[@stargazeronesixseven]

🙏 Falco the Owl might still be alive & well taken care of if not being set free by zoo vandals! 🙏 May Falco be blessed to a Better World & Realm ... 🌼🌿🌏🕊

[@Readysetgo2007]

Still would had been animal abuse. He lived in a cage in the size of a bus stop. Not weird he didn't want to go back to the cage.

[@justcrap3703]

​@@Readysetgo2007 ah yes so you're arguing he's better off dead. Nice job.

[@BrokenBonesRBLX]

How tragic to hear about Flaco's passing. Escaping the confines of the zoo must have been a terrifying experience for him, and it's heartbreaking that it ultimately led to his death. Hopefully, lessons can be learned from this incident to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Rest in peace, Flaco. May you find peace beyond the confines of this world. ❤🦉

[@thetest8777]

He died in freedom That place was hell for him It's like keep u in a prison cell all your life and finally have a chance to escape and see the outside Don't try to twist it

[@elizabethfrohn-hengst296]

​@@thetest8777I'd rather live in a place of safety, comfort , and health than wet ,cold and dying via rat poison or massive internal hemorrhage

[@Readysetgo2007]

​@@elizabethfrohn-hengst296 The rat poison was the people's fault. It's not a good method. You know his cage was in the size of a bus stop? At least he didn't have to deal with that sort of abuse in the wild.

[@markdanielczyk944]

What a shame! R.I.P. feathered friend.

[@raven-edgewindwalker23]

Rest Peacefully Flaco. Keep flying in Spirit!

[@HellkittyMeow]

We love you Flaco! Fly free forever!

[@lauriefaithprescott]

Rest in peace beautiful boy ❤❤❤❤ u died free and loved

[@ShawnRakar]

I’m sad for Flacco.😢 RIP friend

[@kalosger2517]

Fly high Flaco... rest in peace 🦉

[@MaryHlad-i7q]

Rest in Peace, Flaco. You will be missed, beautiful owl.🦉

[@richellegill8442]

What a shame. At least he lived free

[@Trund27]

Poor Flaco. 😢😢😢

[@travelchoice89]

Heartbreaking news... 💔🦉 Losing Flaco, the escaped Central Park Zoo owl, feels like losing a part of our city's charm. Rest in peace, little friend. 🕊 🌳

[@TheIntelligentElephant71133]

Rip flaco the owl 🦉

[@5DNRG]

Such a beautiful owl !! It's sad he is no longer with us. I have much gratitude for him giving joy to so many of us during his last year of life...he enjoyed his freedom.

[@Rachel88009]

This has really upset me, I hadn’t heard 😢

[@GlisanHousecasa-st5cl]

I love Flaco had a favorite tree

[@rev.dr.yvonneray2035]

Poor little thing!

[@PiggyBonkers0309]

I’ve never seen this owl in my life, but R.I.P.

[@GaelinW]

It was one hell of a last year. Fly Free, Flaco.

[@landencarl5842]

R.I.P Flaco💔😢

[@eyanosasioux9575]

Rest In Peace 😭😭😭🦉

[@debbieparker3691]

The great thing for flaco is that he lived free for a year! Nothing better than that for an owl❤

[@zealwarriorgaming5315]

Damm I was just thinking about this owl the other day and talked to my parents about him. Such a shame. RIP Flaco.

[@RaevenLin]

Fly FREE!! Fly High!! R.I.P., Poor, sweet 💜Flaco💜 !!

[@jmh6016]

Ok, the wedding. Seriously?! Let lose a flying wild animal indoors for your event. That outcome was as clear as the window.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Mm ridiculous...

[@Madness_Matthew61]

May Flaco rest his soul and may flaco rest in peace

[@vanialucero7851]

Rest In Peace Flaco U Beautiful Handsome Bird U Will Be Missed & Loved By Those Who Knew U😇😇🥰😘🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌼🌼🌼🌼🌺🌺🌺🌺🌻🌻🌻❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️🧸🧸🧸🧸🎏

[@kathysalkeldbonilla6541]

So sad today.

[@madisonnovakowski5109]

May Flaco rest in peace

[@jungsookseo583]

He suggested us a lot. The issue of zoo itself in modern age( why should he be raised in a cage in the first place), birds death by window slamming, so many rats and rat poisons in NYC, and the meaning of freedom . I wanna believe he made his choice anyway since he didn't fly back to the zoo enclosure. You were a brave bird, Flaco. Thank you for your inspiration.

[@DanielWatches]

poor thing, this story brought a tear to my eye...

[@batissta44]

RIP Pretty Flaco

[@joshuavang5449]

Rest In Peace Flaco. You lived the life as free bird outside in the wild instead of being caged.

[@dzibird5356]

😢 I had so much fun following his journey, and this broke my heart. The poison thing seems like a possibility.... I don't get what they can't employ people with trained dogs or minks or whatever for this rodent problem since the poison does more harm to everything else than the rats.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Yeah it's dangerous for people's pets as well. Why I think rat poison shouldn't be used.

[@melissagrant4178]

May Flaco fly free in Haven

[@ashleygibson8066]

Rest in peace Flaco. 💐🕯🕊

[@KMDragonS]

I wouldn't be surprised if he had a statue as a memorial

[@tag7592]

So sad 😞, Flaco ❤

[@TheAlmightyPrime]

Fly High Flaco 💔

[@christopherwesterberg8555]

RIP Flaco the Owl

[@Felix87953.YTStudio]

Rest in peace Flaco

[@dekotahrunninghorse9372]

So incredibly sad ! I wish we could put something on windows to protect birds. May he rest in peace. ❤

[@AG-cq3kb]

rest in peace Flaco

[@Looney2750]

Rest in piece beautiful bird❤ Flaco was a saint 💪🏼

[@user-er3ri6sc3j]

One year of freedom is better than a lifetime in captivity. Deacon John.

[@Readysetgo2007]

His years in captivity was abuse imo. A cage in the size of a bus stop? Come on, that's way too little room for an owl. 😐

[@Daniela.7]

Im so deeply sorry 😔💔

[@svxd7369]

Fly high buddy. Rest in peace Flaco. ❤️🦉❤️

[@Readysetgo2007]

💜🦉💜

[@dollofshadows1703]

Very sad, we were all rooting for him! But shame on those people who let the owl loose at the wedding @0:50. I get that they really like owls, but what did they think was going to happen, and where was it supposed to go?? People need to be a lot nicer to animals, because they don't have it as good as we do.

[@teresacole6266]

😢 so devastating 💔

[@Fariswheelanwar]

Fly in peace Flaco

[@StudioTemple]

Poor lil Flaco. I’m sorry he couldn’t be saved. R.I.P. to the owl. 😔

[@fireflymiesumae]

Poor sweet owl 🦉😞

[@SamAndDeanWinchester157]

Fly on forevermore Flaco

[@franklam3056]

Been waiting for this post. Rip Flaco. Fly higher buddy 🙏🏻🙏🏻🦉🦉we’ll miss you 😢

[@dairydregone7146]

RIP!

[@Lily_of_the_Forest]

Oh no Im so sorry

[@glassowlie]

Flaco was a legend!

[@Sherise81]

Not Flaco! Such a beautiful owl.

[@Readysetgo2007]

Yeah I feel kinda angry about this... Can I e-mail someone about this? Who places out rat poison in New York?

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

Adorable owl flaco❤😢 miss him

[@Chris-zs5qb]

I knew he wasn't safe roaming around the area like that. RIP. Not saying his cage was that much better, if at all.

[@Sunshine-ox3hc]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[@SophiaWisdomTarot]

So sad 😞

[@The1_Blackswan]

Sweet Flaco🦉, now you're flying in animal heaven!✝🖤💔

[@firefly2508]

The only one to blame is the dummy who released Flaco.

[@senob44]

Interestingly enough Falco also died in an untimely collision. RIP Falco and Flaco

[@christineschmidt8327]

Rover died just recently too .. our NYC eagle

[@GrilledCheese2theMAX]

Flaco you will be remembered

[@vampiregirl1806]

😢😢😢😢😢RIP Flaco 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😞😞😞😞😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

[@CaseyReyes-z5e]

Rest in piece Flaco 😢

[@Three2Three323]

Flaco sounds like an LA Mexican gang member nickname

[@jackiecastillo2484]

Rip flaco🥺🙏🏻❤️

[@jennifergarza4130]

RIP Flaco. 🦉

[@justmee2477]

I’m so sad. Flaco was a beautiful creature who never should’ve been put in the situation that he found himself. He didn’t belong in New York, free or in captivity. Had he stayed behind bars, he would, in all probability be alive for many years to come. But at what price? He never would’ve known the freedom that he obviously preferred. On the other hand, his escape made him a stranger in a strange land. His food source was never a safe one, tall buildings with their glass windows were a constant peril, and a solitary life was guaranteed as he was the only one of his kind. New York loved him. I loved him. But we didn’t love him enough not to have him in a zoo in the first place just so we could see him. Given a choice, Flaco chose freedom. That says it all. At least it does to me. I’m so glad he got to live his best life for that year dispite the perils that faced him. My prayer is that he’s still flying somewhere where freedom has no end.❤🦉❤

[@njwest1996]

He really said “now I’m gonna watch you in your cages”

[@Readysetgo2007]

He was used to people looking at him for years. So he probably searched for that familiar feeling. 🙂

[@agoodmeme4823]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO FALCO!!!!!!!!! Godspeed you majestic nocturnal hunter.

[@creamysauce5351]

That poor handsome fellow! Why can’t people just leave nature alone?

[@carlg.7882]

I've been hearing a Tengmalm's Owl in my neighborhood lately. One night, it flew right over while I was walking my dog and I could hear its hooting at night. The poor owl. I would love to see it on my window.

[@abbij2009]

Poor Flaco. Rest in peace buddy.

[@yvettethomas5533]

😢😢RIP Flaco!!!!

[@Unsuccessful-Youtuber]

It’s hard out on these suburbs… he was the best skipper in the navy… RIP

[@MoniqueBlairASMR]

Aww, I wish you could’ve been relocated to his natural habitat

[@Thunderchild-gz4gc]

He was born in captivity though. He did OK until he most likely ate a poisoned rat. Could he have survived if he was released back overseas?

[@Slimythegreenboy]

R.I.P Flaco 2010 - 2024

[@reploid123]

Animals live longer in captivity vs the wild. People saying he died free, but he was cared after by people who loved animals, until someone let him loose. (side story) We had a sliding door and whenever we took the curtains down to clean it, every time at least one bird would smack into it and die

[@AndrewSmith-qw5kt]

The owls have been talking to me, but I'm sworn to secrecy.

[@Under_Sky_Third_Gaia]

Nice one

[@AndrewSmith-qw5kt]

@@Under_Sky_Third_Gaia it's the second verse of the Sparklehorse song "Spirit Ditch" Great song.