Flaco the owl would not give a hoot after escaping NYC zoo, and officers say he can fly free for now | CBC Information

For 2 weeks, an owl that escaped from New York’s Central Park Zoo has flown from treetop to treetop, eluding seize and amassing legions of followers frightened about its capacity to outlive alone within the massive metropolis.

Would Flaco, an imposing Eurasian eagle-owl, go hungry as a result of he hadn’t developed a capability to hunt whereas in captivity?

With a collective sigh of reduction, the reply was a powerful no: It seems Flaco has regained his killer instincts and is changing into an outdated hand at swooping down from his lofty perch to feed on the park’s bounty of rats.

In consequence, zoo officers introduced that they had been suspending restoration operations, at the least for now, however will preserve a detailed eye on the owl’s well being.

“We’re going to proceed monitoring Flaco and his actions and to be ready to renew restoration efforts if he reveals any signal of issue or misery,” zoo officers stated in an announcement.

The fowl’s identify in Spanish means “skinny,” and it appeared he was at risk of residing as much as his identify within the early days of his escape as a result of he hadn’t been seen consuming. However when he began coughing up fur and bones, it sparked pleasure — proof that he had been looking and consuming.

Officers acknowledged that recovering Flaco had confirmed troublesome, particularly “since he has been very profitable at looking and consuming the plentiful prey within the park.”

The Eurasian eagle-owl is without doubt one of the bigger owl species, with a wingspan of as much as two metres (79 inches), in response to the Wildlife Conservation Society. They’ve giant talons and distinctive ear tufts.

Regardless of proof that Flaco had been eating on rodents, the duty of capturing him went on.

Most just lately, zoo officers tried to lure Flaco with bait and recordings of eagle-owl calls. He confirmed some curiosity however did not fall for the ruse.

The seek for Flaco was launched on Feb. 2, after the invention that vandals had lower chrome steel meshing on the fowl’s enclosure.

Flaco has made the rounds of Higher Manhattan however hasn’t strayed too removed from the park. He flew to the close by purchasing hub of Fifth Avenue, the place law enforcement officials tried to catch him and failed. He captivated audiences wherever he went, together with a go to to the park’s skating rink. Twitter has been aflutter with sightings, and the hashtag #freeflaco, in addition to a web-based petition to maintain him free, quickly took flight.

“Flaco has been doing nicely in Central Park. And that is wonderful. He is made a outstanding transfer from being a captive owl to being within the wild a lot sooner than anybody would have anticipated,” stated David Barrett, who runs the birding Twitter accounts Manhattan Fowl Alert, Brooklyn Fowl Alert and Bronx Fowl Alert.

“He is catching prey on his personal. He continues to fly higher and higher,” he stated. “He appears to be having fun with himself on the market.”

Eurasian eagle-owls aren’t native to North America, so Flaco must fly throughout the ocean to seek out his personal sort within the wild. He was lower than a yr outdated when he made his dwelling on the Central Park Zoo in 2010.

Owls are largely solitary animals and normally solely work together with one other animal throughout breeding season.

“Is he going to be lonely on the market? That is an excellent query,” Barrett stated.