By Gus Saltonstall
The remains of Flaco, the popular Eurasian eagle-owl who died in February, 2024, after escaping from the Central Park Zoo in February, 2023, and experiencing a year of freedom, have been sent to the American Museum of Natural History, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced last week.
Specifically, wing and tissue samples of Flaco were transferred to the Upper West Side museum to become part of its scientific collection.
Historically, the Bronx Zoo, which performed the autopsy on Flaco after the owl collided with a building on West 89th Street, donates animal specimens to the Museum of Natural History — and Flaco was no different.
The autopsy found that the owl had multiple types of rat poison in his system, along with a pigeon herpesvirus.
Flaco’s remains will not be on public view within the museum.
“These collections are used extensively by scientists and also by artists who develop images for education materials, including birding field guides,” the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a news release.
The other portion of Flaco’s remains will be archived at the Bronx Zoo’s Wildlife Health Center. The tissue samples transferred to the museum are for its frozen tissue specimen collection.
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Too bad these ‘zoos’ cant all close down.. Pathetic that independant beautiful creatures are caught in other parts of the world and locked up in NY…For what? Tourists? So sad.
If people are interested in checking out wild animals and birds etc let them travel the world; or access something on line that would give people access to this ..
Oh, you’re so right. And deprive all the people who don’t have the money or time to go on safari when they have the urge. Deprive children of a opportunity to see wild animals in a safe environment where they can learn and appreciate the wonders of creatures other than human beings.
The people who vandalized Flaco’s enclosure and those who sabotaged recapture efforts are to blame for his death. He would have lived very long and happily in his large enclosure at the zoo. He was born in captivity and did not have the skills that wild birds have to actually live outside of that environment. As beautiful as it was to see him among the urban architecture of the UWS, he never should have been living in that environment on his own in the first place. Those who claim, “at least he died free” are naive and ignorant about true wildlife conservation, which is the primary mission of legitimate zoos like Central Park and the Bronx. Shame on them for putting their romanticized idea of his “freedom” ahead of his actual health and safety.
Actually, Flaco demonstrated quite well “the skills that wild birds have” to live outside of a zoo: his hunting ability, his finding numerous places to explore and roost–don’t know what else you refer to; he died from colliding with a building, which sadly is a cause of injury/death for many wild birds. Yes, if had remained in the zoo that would not have happened; whether he would have been happier we can’t truly say, but many feel that locking animals up in cages for the entertainment of humans is wrong.
RIP, Flaco! Such an unecessary tragedy.
I live right next to the museum and always heard Flaco on / near my roof. Glad to see he’ll be close.
What a magnificent bird! I understand why his remains will be kept under wraps for scientifice study. I’m no ghoul. But how about a sculpture commemorating him? (I’m aware that there would be a lot of red tape involved, aside from the funding of such a project.)
Anybody up for this?
I agree! Ideally a commemorative statue in Central Park. I was hoping the Central Park Conservancy would consider such a project. (I for one would gladly make a donation dedicated to it.)
Shortly after Flaco’s death, a petition was launched, and to date it has gathered more than 5,000 signatures: https://www.change.org/p/honor-flaco-the-eurasian-eagle-owl-with-a-statue-in-central-park-39a18346-0db1-49dc-b386-ce8206a689e2?recruiter=1112052887&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&recruited_by_id=f1331370-a85e-11ea-875a-69252ee8adf2&share_bandit_exp=initial-37903956-en-US
In memory of Flaco:
FLACO’S ODYSSEY
by Judy Accurso
Precious Flaco!
Noble, majestic, courageous and bold
Your gleaming eyes, and your coat, a radiant mosaic of amber and gold
Magnificent to behold!
You lifted our spirits while spreading your wings
Unlocking for us all number of things.
You did not seek to beckon or inspire us, or scatter magic pixie dust,
To help us look inside ourselves, to bring forth lofty sentiments, or to help us see,
Or to set free a dormant camaraderie
Your splendor summoned no conceit, no pompous peacock pride –
You only wanted to soar and to glide
To find a rooftop, sill, or tree – just to be.
Tracking your wanderings for over a year,
We watched as you coursed through our skies,
Flying not really so far, yet neither too near.
Then, to traverse a parallel universe seemingly was your fate –
To soar through some wormhole, tunnel, or eternal gate
To find a mate, to procreate,
To land on a distant ginko, oak, or elm
In some far-off unknown realm.
Flaco!
Glorious raptor, eluding capture, did you make prey of our love and rapture, then abscond?
Or, like Mary Poppins, did you move on and beyond
Bringing your wonder, your magic, and light
Through another miraculous flight
To awaken our cosmic counterparts to their own dormant joys, to uncloak, for them, their sleeping camaraderie –
Somewhere, somewhere, in some shimmering galaxy
In a happy place that we cannot see
What about Pale Male, his consorts and offspring? Have you all so quickly forgotten about them?
That PM survived around humans for so long and gave us so much pleasure is more amazing (as in wonderful) to me than Flaco.
They named the owl skinny 🤣. It’s unfortunate that Flaco escaped and got poisoned. But hopefully the zoo will keep better eyes on its inhabitants.
[…] poem was penned after WSR posted a story about Flaco’s remains being sent to the American Museum of Natural History. It came to us as a comment, but we thought it […]
It was actually a necropsy, not an autopsy. An autopsy can only be done one the same species…so unless an owl performed the autopsy on Flaco, it was a necropsy.