An owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo after somebody broken his cage has change into New York Metropolis’s newest avian movie star, attracting gawkers as he surveys the park from one tall tree or one other however stoking fears that he cannot hunt and can starve.
The owl, a Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco, escaped Feb. 2, zoo spokesperson Max Pulsinelli mentioned in a information launch the next day. “The exhibit had been vandalized and the chrome steel mesh lower,” Pulsinelli mentioned. “Upon notification, a staff was mobilized to seek for the hen.”
Flaco flew from the zoo to the close by purchasing hub of Fifth Avenue, the place cops tried to catch him and failed.
ESCAPED NEW YORK CITY ZOO OWL BAFFLES LOCAL AUTHORITIES
He returned to Central Park the subsequent morning and since then has been noticed at varied areas within the southeast part of the park. Flaco has spent a part of his time on the grounds of the zoo he fled, however he has not returned to captivity on his personal.
Zoo officers mentioned final week that they have been searching for to recapture Flaco, however they haven’t issued any updates on their efforts since then.
Nobody has seen Flaco eat throughout his six days on the lam, mentioned David Barrett, who runs birding Twitter accounts together with Manhattan Hen Alert, Brooklyn Hen Alert and Bronx Hen Alert.
Wednesday discovered Flaco commanding a view of Wollman Rink’s ice skaters from an oak tree within the park’s Hallett Nature Sanctuary. A small crowd watched from a respectful distance.
“I simply need to observe how he is doing myself,” retired well being care employee Gig Palileo mentioned as she examined the owl by way of her digital camera lens. “I’m a nurse, so I’m at all times form of like, ‘Is the eyes nonetheless alert?’”
Palileo mentioned she was saddened “that anyone had let this man go with out even pondering what’s the implications. … In all probability he doesn’t know learn how to hunt.”
Kenny Cwiok, a retired correction officer within the state jail system, was extra sanguine concerning the owl’s survival within the wild. “I believe he can survive,” Kwiok mentioned. “If he realized learn how to fly I suppose he can learn to hunt.”
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Kwiok known as Flaco “a celeb” just like the brightly plumaged Mandarin duck that dazzled park-goers just a few years in the past. “He was a star,” Kwiok mentioned. “He was a Brad Pitt for Central Park.”
The Eurasian eagle-owl is among the bigger owl species with a wingspan of as much as 79 inches, in line with the Wildlife Conservation Society. They’ve massive talons and distinctive ear tufts.
Just like the Mandarin duck, the Eurasian eagle-owl isn’t native to North America, however native owl species together with nice horned owls and barred owls do frequent Central Park, the place they dine on rats, mice and smaller birds.
Dustin Partridge, director of conservation and science for NYC Audubon, mentioned he hopes Flaco’s plight raises consciousness of the fugitive hen’s wild cousins. “There’s loads of owl life within the metropolis,” Partridge mentioned. “If you happen to’ve by no means seen an owl, they’re majestic creatures.”
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