Meet Flaco, the owl that escaped the Central Park Zoo and has become a symbol of freedom and resilience. Brut joined bird-watcher David Barrett, the founder of Manhattan Bird Alert, on a trip to see NYC's latest bird celebrity.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Officials at the Central Park Zoo continue their efforts to rescue an owl that escaped its habitat last night.
00:06I am obsessed with the escape of Flaco.
00:09Flaco succeeded against great odds. He's a true survivor, a true New York survivor.
00:21New York City has a new celebrity in town. His name is Flaco, and he's a Eurasian eagle owl
00:27that escaped from the Central Park Zoo after someone damaged his enclosure in early February.
00:32I've seen him in the zoo before. It's actually really cool to see him out here in the wild.
00:36Flaco had been in captivity at the zoo for over 13 years,
00:40nearly his entire life. Zookeepers and bird enthusiasts were initially worried
00:44he wouldn't be able to fend for himself. But so far, he's exceeded everyone's expectations.
00:49I didn't think there was any way that he would be able to fly. Once he flew,
00:54I thought there's no way he'll be able to hunt. And now he's off in a tree having a great time.
01:01We want to enjoy our freedom, and now Flaco gets to enjoy his.
01:06Birdwatcher David Barrett runs Manhattan Bird Alert,
01:08a popular Twitter feed that tracks and shares images of wild birds in the city.
01:12Remember Hot Duck or Snowy Owl? Barrett's been called their de facto PR spokesman.
01:18Now, bird enthusiasts are using Manhattan Bird Alert to keep up with Flaco.
01:22Flaco's enclosure at the zoo was meant somewhat to mimic
01:26the typical habitat that these owls have in their native land. But it wasn't big.
01:33It didn't really give Flaco room to fly. He could just perch there, sit there all day.
01:38And that's too bad. Someone came to his enclosure and cut the wire mesh netting.
01:45He took advantage of it and escaped that night.
01:48Every New Yorker dreams of moving out of their tiny apartment
01:52into a nicer neighborhood, and Flaco did it.
02:05As exciting as it was, Flaco was in danger. He'd been fed every day by his handler,
02:12and he didn't have to develop any of the skills needed to survive in the wild.
02:17Concerned about his health and safety,
02:19people kept a close watch on Flaco's flying and hunting skills.
02:23Within the week, he had hunted successfully a rat, caught a rat in Central Park.
02:30That's when we knew that he would be able to make it on his own.
02:34His flights became longer. He was flying more gracefully, too.
02:38And he was hitting his landings.
02:40Zookeepers tried to catch Flaco. They played sounds of mating calls to try to lure him.
02:45They set up a trap with a lab rat inside, but to no avail.
02:49After seeing that Flaco could take care of himself,
02:51a hundred signed a petition asking zookeepers to let Flaco stay free.
02:55In mid-February, the zoo acknowledged his improvements and suspended,
02:59at least temporarily, its efforts to recapture him.
03:02As long as he's doing well in the park, as long as he's catching prey,
03:06and he's healthy, then I think it would be great to have him in the park.
03:10Flaco succeeded against great odds. He's a true survivor, a true New York survivor.
03:15I think people respect that.
03:17So we're on our way to see Flaco right now.
03:19An important thing to keep in mind when you go to see Flaco is be quiet.
03:23You'll notice that nearly everyone is either speaking quietly or not speaking at all.
03:30Not just so that Flaco can get the rest he needs,
03:34but so that people who want to take video of him and listen to his hoots, they can hear them.
03:47You can hear the hooting.
03:53So we want the owl to face us for the best shot.
03:58Now it's just a matter of being patient because the owl wants to rest for a bit.
04:04So what you hear calling right now is a blue jay.
04:09Blue jays try to irritate the owl and get it to leave.
04:13The blue jays are also telling other blue jays that the owl is here and is hoping
04:17its friends will come by and they'll all mob the owl and try to force it to leave.
04:27It's actually crazy how many fans he has.
04:29There's so many people in the woods here with insane camera rigs
04:33trying to get the best shot.
04:34He's just been evading people.
04:36So I think that kind of makes it even more of a kind of like funny situation.
04:40What do you think we can learn from Flaco's story?
04:45Sometimes you got to fight the power man.
04:47While many celebrate Flaco's freedom, others worry about the dangers he still faces
04:52like rodenticide poisoning and traffic.
04:55In 2021, Barry the barred owl, another famous Central Park bird,
04:59was hit by a vehicle and was found to have consumed rat poison.
05:03But there's hope to be found in Geraldine,
05:05a wild great horned owl that's been thriving in Central Park for over a year.
05:09For some people, Flaco is a celebration of freedom.
05:13For some people, Flaco is an invasive animal in the park
05:16that's a danger to the native species that live here.
05:20For some people, Flaco is just a beautiful bird that they just want to see and interact with.
05:24I think it is an inspiring story for New Yorkers and people all over the world
05:28to see how an animal can overcome the odds and thrive even in a strange environment.
05:34And Delphine, what do you think about Flaco?
05:37Like his daddy.