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The animals that captivated New Yorkers this year: Where are they now?
By
Kerry Shaw
Published Feb 21, 2023
Modified Feb 21, 2023
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Alfonso Lozano del Rey / Shutterstock
By
Kerry Shaw
Published Feb 21, 2023
Modified Feb 21, 2023
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New York City may have almost no snow this season, but there’s an abundance of "celebrity" wild animals.
Seemingly every week, another critter (or critters) dominates headlines in the concrete jungle – often because of mistreatment and abuse by humans.
In the past week alone, city officials have rescued an alligator from Prospect Park Lake, while zoo workers have attempted to lure a Eurasian eagle owl back to the Central Park Zoo.
In case you’ve lost track, here’s a guide to NYC’s breakout animal stars in 2023 and where they are now.
Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo after the mesh around his enclosure was vandalized in early February, zoo officials say.
Central Park Zoo
Flaco the Owl
In a tale seemingly ripped from a children’s picture book, this Eurasian eagle owl escaped from his exhibit at the Central Park Zoo after a vandal (or vandals?) cut the steel mesh around his enclosure.
Flaco has since been spotted on various tree branches in Central Park, and delighted birders across the boroughs who’ve made treks to see him in the wild. (As one New Yorker told Gothamist, the trick to finding the “celebrity owls” is to “follow the photographers.”)
Fans of Flaco feared he wouldn’t know how to hunt after a decade in captivity, but the owl eclipsed expectations by successfully catching rats in the wild. He was so successful that the Central Park Zoo declared that its rescue efforts were on pause as of last Friday because Flaco was doing just fine on his own. As of Monday, he was spotted in Central Park's North Woods.
Flamingo the pigeon was treated at the Wild Bird Fund.
Alexis Ayala for the Wild Bird Fund
Flamingo the Pigeon
For a brief moment in February, this unfortunate pigeon – believed to have been dyed pink for a gender reveal party – unified New Yorkers against animal cruelty.
The pigeon, who was named Flamingo by his rescuers, was found in Madison Square Park and cared for by the Wild Bird Fund. There, he was treated with oxygen, heat and fluids to save his life, but the efforts were unsuccessful. Flamingo’s death was announced Feb. 7; the Wild Bird Fund said it was due to inhaling toxic fumes from the chemicals in the dye.
The Wild Bird Fund also said they hoped the pigeon’s death would serve as a reminder to everyone to never use birds as props: "We hope the tale of his too-short life will help prevent more acts of careless cruelty.”
A dead whale that washed ashore at Lido Beach, New York, in January.
12 dead whales
People may not agree on why dead whales are washing ashore, but there’s agreement that there are more of them along the coasts of New York and New Jersey.
On Friday, a 25-foot adult minke whale was spotted in Far Rockaway, the 12th dead whale found along the coastline since Dec. 1. Earlier that week, a dead humpback whale was spotted in New Jersey.
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that vessel strikes are a big cause of whale deaths, but added that more research is needed to understand these “unusual mortality events” with whales along the Atlantic Coast.
A 4-foot-long alligator, subsequently named "Godzilla," was pulled from Prospect Park Lake on Sunday. Feb. 19. It was transported to Bronx Zoo health center, where it continued to be evaluated.
NYC Parks and Recreation Department
Godzilla the Alligator
This 4-foot-long alligator was spotted crawling out of Prospect Park Lake on Sunday morning. Experts aren’t sure how the reptile wound up in Brooklyn – alligators are not typically found in the wild farther north than North Carolina.
Michael Miscione, the former Manhattan borough historian, told Gothamist that alligators have — in rare occurrences — historically wound up in the city’s rivers and sewers because people thought they'd make a fun a pet and didn’t understand what they were signing up for.
“Where if you keep a goldfish in a small bowl, it'll stay small,” he told Gothamist. “But as long as you keep feeding it, an alligator gets bigger and bigger regardless of its enclosure.”
An unlucky rat in a trap at the Elliott-Chelsea Houses in Manhattan.
William Alatriste, NYC Council Media Unit
Rats
Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch may have famously declared that “the rats don’t run this city. We do,” but the vermin sure do have sway over the news cycle.
So far in 2023, rats have reportedly gotten bigger, and they’ve caused Mayor Eric Adams to wind up in the city’s administrative law court. Adams ultimately had to pay $300 for the rat infestation at his four-story Bed-Stuy home.
Adams says the rats have won the battle, but not the war.
“I will again challenge these violations and show that rats don’t run this city,” he said.
A school of dolphins seen off the coast of Long Island in 2018.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Dolphins
On Saturday, three dolphins died after becoming stranded in shallow water near New Jersey, according to NJ.com. It is not yet known why they were there.
But the news hasn’t been all bad for dolphins in the tristate area, which seem to be returning to the coastline in recent years.
In January, a group of the marine mammals was spotted swimming in the Bronx River. Earlier that same week, dolphins were seen in the waters just north of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The Bronx dolphins’ arrival was “great news” according to a tweet by the parks department, which said that it showed “that the decadeslong effort to restore the river as a healthy habitat is working."
"We believe these dolphins naturally found their way to the river in search of fish,” the department said.
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animals
Kerry Shaw
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