New York City’s famous owl Flaco died from rat poison

Xochitl Bott Rivera
·3 min read
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A Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco sits in a tree in New York's Central Park, Feb. 6, 2023. Flaco, New York City’s widely-mourned celebrity owl, was suffering from a severe pigeon-borne illness and high levels of rat poison when he fatally crashed into a building last month, officials at the Bronx Zoo said on Monday, March 25, 2024.
A Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco sits in a tree in New York's Central Park, Feb. 6, 2023. Flaco, New York City’s widely-mourned celebrity owl, was suffering from a severe pigeon-borne illness and high levels of rat poison when he fatally crashed into a building last month, officials at the Bronx Zoo said on Monday, March 25, 2024. | Seth Wenig

Flaco the owl became famous in New York’s Central Park after escaping from his enclosure in 2023 and surviving on his own. Many experts were surprised at his ability to survive in the urban city after living a life in an enclosure, according to NPR.

But in February, witnesses saw Flaco hit a building, then die from his injuries. But a postmortem report on Flaco revealed he had more serious health issues than anyone realized.

Who was Flaco?

Flaco was a Eurasian eagle-owl that arrived at the Central Park Zoo around 13 years ago as a baby, The Associated Press reports. After living a life in the zoo, in February 2023, someone vandalized Flaco’s enclosure.

According to NPR, someone trespassed into the Central Park Zoo in the night hours and cut a hole in Flaco’s steel mesh cage. Flaco escaped and soon became a local icon, hanging out among the city’s fire escapes and water towers.

Central Park Zoo attempted to recapture him and bring Flaco back home, per AP, but failed after several attempts. Flaco would avoid police officers and would not return to zoo keepers (who attempted to lure him in with bait and owl calls), per The Washington Post. When zoo officials noticed that Flaco was surviving on his hunting skills, they stopped trying to catch him.

Instead, the Central Park Zoo monitored Flaco from a distance and were ready to bring him back in case he was injured or in distress.

How did Flaco die?

Flaco’s life ended on Feb. 23, according to Central Park Zoo. Zoo officials had received reports from witnesses that Flaco had crashed into a building in the Upper West Side.

Veterinary pathologists studied Flaco’s body and found that his death was preceded by two illnesses, per Central Park Zoo. The first was pigeon herpesvirus, most likely from the pigeons Flaco would eat, and the second was rat poison. Flaco had four different types of rat poisons in his system, according to the zoo.

The report also shared the deadly side effects from the pigeon herpesvirus. This virus is carried by healthy pigeons but is fatal to birds of prey. In Flaco, the disease had created tissue damage and inflammation in several organs, including his brain.

Before his death, fans of Flaco noticed that he had stopped hooting at night, according to The Washington Post. Rat poison can cause muscle weakness and hemorrhages, which could have played a factor into Flaco’s crash with the building.

ABC News reports that Flaco was known as the “most famous owl in the world” and crowds would come watch him. But after his death, many of his fans mourned for him.

According to AP, Flaco’s fans went to Central Park to create a memorial at Flaco’s favorite tree. Songs, poems and speeches were some of the tributes left for Flaco.