Flaco, the beloved eagle owl that was roaming freely around the city after escaping from the Central Park Zoo a year ago, died of “acute trauma,” according to newly released autopsy results.
wildlife conservation association will be released on Saturday Details of the first post-mortem of a feathered local celebrity. It came a day after he jumped off the side of an Upper West Side building.
Pathologists at the Bronx Zoo found that Flaco’s 4.1-pound body absorbed most of the fatal impact, and said there was “significant bleeding deep within the body cavity below the sternum and around the liver.” Ta.
The report said Flaco appeared to have survived head injuries, but there was “a small amount of bleeding” behind his left eye.
Preliminary findings indicate there were no fractures or fractures in the owl’s bones.
An autopsy revealed that Flaco was in good health before his death, had lost only 1 to 2 ounces of weight since his escape, and had “good muscle mass and ample fat reserves” to maintain his health.
Zookeepers initially worried that he wouldn’t be able to eat enough to survive because he was raised in captivity.
Pathologists will now examine whether “possible exposure to rodenticides or other toxins,” or the possibility of “West Nile virus and avian influenza” contributed to the owl’s death, officials said. .
WCS estimates that about 250,000 birds die in similar ways every year in this city of high-rise buildings. One reason for this is that birds mistake what they see in the window for real trees or the sky.
“Flaco’s tragic and untimely death highlights the problem of bird strikes and the devastating impact they have on wild bird populations,” the group said.
He was kept in captivity for 12 years, but was whisked away from the Central Park Zoo last winter when vandals damaged his enclosure there.
New Yorkers sympathized with X and gathered in Manhattan’s Central Park and at 267 West 89th Street, where he died, to remember the beloved owl.
“I’m sad beyond words to learn of his death. It hurt so much, especially since this bird just celebrated its first year in the wild and seemed so healthy.” A man who also took a photo said:
