Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl who became famous after escaping from a vandalized zoo exhibit and roaming New York City, died in February due to herpes and poison, according to a new necropsy.
Flaco first flew the coop on Feb. 2, 2023, after an unknown perpetrator vandalized his exhibit at the Central Park Zoo, where he had lived for 13 years since he was a fledgling, zoo officials said in a Monday release announcing the necropsy.
For over a year afterward, Flaco became famous as New Yorkers spotted him around the town, surviving in the urban jungle despite years of captivity. On Feb. 23, 2024, however, Flaco’s freedom came to an end when he flew into a building before falling to the ground below.
Veterinarians at the Bronx Zoo, which like the Central Park Zoo is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, determined that Flaco died from trauma from the collision in addition to a couple of other factors stemming from his post-escape diet.
Eating feral pigeons gave Flaco pigeon herpes, and eating rats exposed him to four different rat poisons, all of which thin the blood.
“These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building,” zoo officials wrote in their release.
After his death, WCS said that the “vandal who damaged Flaco’s exhibit jeopardized the safety of the bird and is ultimately responsible for his death.”
While pigeon herpes is usually not fatal to them, zoo officials said it can be fatal to predator birds like owls.
The pigeons that were caught by Flaco, a nocturnal predator, were likely either young or too ill to escape predators.
“It’s also not surprising to learn that Flaco had consumed a sick pigeon. … A pigeon caught on the street at night would likely be a nestling or a bird too sick or injured to roost,” the Wild Bird Fund, a New York City wildlife rehabilitation center, wrote on X.
In Flaco’s case, the pigeon herpes caused damage and inflammation in his brain, bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, liver and spleen.
“Flaco’s severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors — infectious disease, toxin exposures, and traumatic injuries — that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting,” zoo officials said.