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A year after Flaco's death, NYC's famous owl lives on in our hearts (and a new exhibit)
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 23, 2025
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Rosemary Misdary/Gothamist
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 23, 2025
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One year ago Sunday, New York’s most famous Eurasian eagle-owl died by flying into a building. But Flaco’s memory lives on: Roughly 100 objects on display at the New York Historical Society tell the story of his brief life as a free bird and an escapee from the Central Park Zoo.
Surviving in the wilds of New York City after living most of his life in captivity made Flaco both a celebrity and a symbol of making it in the Big Apple. More than 30 photographs in the “Year of Flaco” exhibit document his many haunts, including Upper West Side fire escapes, water tanks and park benches.
“ He was a beautiful animal, and just the idea that he escaped was exciting, that he somehow was liberated,” Catherine Gleason, a New York City resident who followed Flaco’s story, said at the exhibit Saturday. “It's really sad, because he's gone, but there's hope somehow in it too that an animal like that could survive as long as he did in New York City.”
Flaco was born in captivity, just like his parents. As a result, he did not know how to fly or hunt. When Flaco was almost 13 years old, his enclosure was vandalized, and he took his chance at freedom — flying the coop.
Flaco made Manhattan his home, wandering Central Park and its surrounding neighborhoods. He learned to soar and hunt.
It was an exciting New York thing to follow this wonderful bird living in our city because if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
Carol Weiss, Upper West Side resident said
After several failed attempts to recapture the feathered predator, Central Park Zoo officials gave up after a local petition advocated for Flaco’s freedom.
"He definitely captivated people's imagination with this idea of him being almost like an immigrant and a true New Yorker," said Christian Madera, who brought his family from New Jersey to see the exhibit. “I think it was something that people could really identify with.”
Flaco subsisted on what the city could offer in plenty: rats and pigeons. He swooped down from high building parapets and could consume as many as four rats in a single sitting. His urban diet ultimately played a role in his his demise after one year of freedom, a few weeks short of his 14th birthday, when he flew into an Upper West Side building. According to his autopsy, he was exposed to rat poison and pigeon herpesvirus — both of which are fatal for birds of prey and contributed to his death.
The narrow hallway on the second floor of the museum is full of tributes of handwritten letters of admiration. One letter calls Flaco the writer’s adult version of E.T. and expresses a longing to get a visit from the black and brown checkered bird at their apartment window. More than 30 drawings express the playful and curious nature of the orange-eyed owl with a six-foot wingspan.
Flaco the owl is remembered in photos, memorabilia and letters at the New York Historical society.
Rosemary Misdary/Gothamist
One year after his death, Flaco is not forgotten. There is a petition with thousands of signatures to erect a statue of Flaco in Central Park. His wings are kept at the American Museum of Natural History. His tragic end also inspired a New York City Council bill to use rat contraceptives instead of poison.
“It was an exciting New York thing to follow this wonderful bird living in our city because if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” Carol Weiss, an Upper West Side resident, said.
The exhibit runs through June 6.
”Flaco was very loved,” Queens resident Mariana Hernandez said.
Tagged
museums
Health and Science
new york city
parks
nyc events
environment
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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