is dead after hitting a building


Just over a year ago, Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl captivated the hearts of New Yorkers when he fled from a Central Park Zoo enclosure after it was vandalized.

 Flaco, dubbed “one of New York’s Flyest” by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, died Friday after colliding with a building in Manhattan, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced.

 Following Flaco’s getaway in February 2023, authorities made numerous attempts to recapture him, without success. Flaco became an attraction in Central Park with birders and others regularly posting updates on X about his whereabouts and eating habits. 

Despite efforts from members of the Wild Bird Fund who responded quickly to Friday’s collision scene, the bird was declared dead, the WCS said. The Wild Bird Fund notified zoo staff who picked up the bird and transported him to the Bronx Zoo for a necropsy.