Beloved NYC owl Flaco’s official cause of death revealed

Jesse O’Neill
·2 min read

Flaco the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who soared freely around the city after escaping from the Central Park Zoo a year ago died from “acute traumatic injury,” according to newly released necropsy results.

The Wildlife Conservation Society on Saturday released details of the winged local celebrity’s initial post-mortem, which was performed a day after he flew into the side of an Upper West Side building.

Pathologists at the Bronx Zoo found that Flaco’s 4.1-pound body absorbed most of the fatal impact, saying there was “substantial hemorrhage under the sternum and in the back of the body cavity around the liver.”

Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and won his freedom and the hearts of New Yorkers died Friday when he flew into a building. David Lei
Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and won his freedom and the hearts of New Yorkers died Friday when he flew into a building. David Lei

Flaco appeared to be spared head trauma, although there was a “small amount of bleeding” behind his left eye, the report said.

None of the owl’s bones were fractured or broken, according to the preliminary findings.

The necropsy found that Flaco had been doing well before his death, having lost only an ounce or two since his escape, and keeping up his health with “good muscling and adequate fat stores.”

Beloved Flaco died of “acute traumatic injury,” according to preliminary necropsy results. David Lei
Beloved Flaco died of “acute traumatic injury,” according to preliminary necropsy results. David Lei

Zookeepers had initially worried that he might not be able to eat enough to survive because he had been raised in captivity.

Pathologists will now check to see if “potential exposures to rodenticides or other toxins” or possible cases of “West Nile Virus and Avian Influenza” contributed to the owl’s death, officials said.

The WCS estimated that about 250,000 birds meet a similar demise every year in the high-rise-laden city. One reason is that the birds mistake a window’s reflection for actual trees and sky.

“Flaco’s tragic and untimely death highlights the issue of bird strikes and their devastating effects on wild bird populations,” the group said.

He had been in captivity for 12 years but flew out of the Central Park Zoo last winter after vandals tampered with his enclosure there.

About 250,000 birds die when they fly into New York City buildings every year, including some who mistake the reflection of trees and skys in windows for the real thing. David Lei
About 250,000 birds die when they fly into New York City buildings every year, including some who mistake the reflection of trees and skys in windows for the real thing. David Lei

New Yorkers have taken to X and gathered in Manhattan’s Central Park and at 267 W. 89th St., the site of where he died, to mourn the beloved owl.

“I’m sad beyond words about his death. It stings especially because he just made it to a year in the wild and he seemed to be doing really well,” said one man who had taken thousands of photos of the free bird.