1 March 2024

One week in the past at present, on 23 Feb 2024, essentially the most well-known owl in New York Metropolis hit a window on West 89th Road and died.

Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) escaped his enclosure on the Central Park Zoo greater than a 12 months in the past after a vandal broken it on 2 Feb 2023. The zoo tried to recapture him and frightened that he would starve or be hit by a automotive. As an alternative Flaco thrived on his personal and have become a logo of freedom to many New Yorkers.

He endeared himself to residence dwellers by typically visiting their highrise home windows or perching on their fireplace escapes.

Sadly a window was Flaco’s undoing. Flaco’s largest fan, David Lei (@davidlei), reported:

As you will have already seen, Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl has handed away. I’m unhappy past phrases. Flaco defied the chances and made fairly a life for himself within the metropolis over the previous 12 months. Alongside the best way he got here to imply a lot to so many, together with me. ??? pic.twitter.com/gJnby3TtvB

— David Lei (@davidlei) February 24, 2024

Memorials sprung up immediately.

Flaco’s demise was lined within the New York Occasions: Flaco, Escaped Central Park Zoo Owl and Defier of Doubts, Is Lifeless and commented on by the zoo the place he lived most of his life.

His story shouldn’t be over, although. Flaco was not the one chook to die of a window strike in North America. He was merely essentially the most well-known. Almost one billion birds per 12 months hit home windows within the U.S.

If your property has ever skilled a window strike please implement certainly one of these strategies to forestall additional collisions and deaths.

Discover out extra at this classic weblog, written after certainly one of our younger peregrines died of a window strike.