For two weeks, an owl that escaped from New York's Central Park Zoo has flown from treetop to treetop, eluding capture and amassing legions of fans worried about its ability to survive alone in the big city. Would Flaco, a majestic Eurasian eagle-owl, go hungry because he hadn't developed an ability to hunt while in captivity? With a collective sigh of relief, the answer was a resounding no: It appears Flaco has regained his killer instincts and is becoming an old hand at swooping down from his lofty perch to feed on the park's bounty of rats. As a result, zoo officials announced that they were suspending recovery operations, at least for now, but will keep a close eye on the owl's health, reports the AP.
The zoo will be "prepared to resume recovery efforts if he shows any sign of difficulty or distress," zoo officials said in a statement. The bird's name in Spanish means "skinny," and it seemed he was in danger of living up to his name in the early days of his escape because he hadn't been seen eating. But when he started coughing up fur and bones, it sparked excitement—proof that he had been hunting and eating. Officials acknowledged that recovering Flaco had proven difficult; most recently, zoo officials tried to lure Flaco with bait and recordings of eagle-owl calls. He showed some interest but didn't fall for the ruse.
The search for Flaco, who was less than a year old when he made his home at the Central Park Zoo in 2010, was launched Feb. 2 after the discovery that vandals had cut stainless steel meshing at the bird's enclosure. Flaco has made his rounds of upper Manhattan but hasn't strayed too far from the park. He flew to the nearby shopping hub of Fifth Avenue, where police officers tried to catch him and failed. He captivated audiences wherever he went, including a visit to the park's skating rink. Twitter has been aflutter with sightings, and the hashtag #freeflaco, as well as an online petition to keep him free, soon took flight.
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