When a thoughtless vandal damaged an exhibit at the Central Park Zoo in 2023, a Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco escaped and found fame. Not on Broadway, but certainly across Manhattan.
The four-pound bird with a six-foot wingspan was born in captivity and was 13 years old when he escaped. Zoo officials were distraught over his survival prospects, worrying that that he lacked the strength and endurance for constant flight, that he wouldn't be able to hunt, and would face constant peril. They were also mostly wrong.
Flaco was constantly spotted hunting and perching all over Manhattan seemed to be faring well — so well that zoo officials could never catch him, though they tried.
Sadly, after a year of supporting himself in the city, Flaco was found dead in 2024 after an apparent crash into a building. New Yorkers mourned.
That same fate befalls 90,000 to 230,000 migrating birds in New York City every year.
One thing good may come from the episode. New York lawmakers a renewing a push for bird-friendly legislation that would require bird-friendly windows on new buildings to reduce collisions. If it passes, the legislation will be known as the Flaco Act.