As we strategy the primary anniversary of beloved Flaco’s premature demise in New York Metropolis, two avid followers of the freed Eurasian eagle-owl have launched a lovingly produced picture e-book dedicated to his 12 months of freedom after his unplanned launch from the Central Park Zoo. A self-published endeavor by NYC birders Jaqueline Emery and David Lei, Discovering Flaco: Our 12 months with New York Metropolis’s Beloved Owl (2024) comprises over 200 images of the owl in all of his glory, supplemented by detailed private observations of his transformation throughout his 13 months adjusting to life within the massive metropolis.
Flaco lived in an enclosure on the Central Park Zoo from November 2010 to February 2023 and escaped his exhibit after an unknown vandal clipped the protecting netting to his area one evening. He repeatedly evaded recapture by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which quickly withdrew its efforts and resigned to easily monitoring the owl as he adjusted to life within the wild — and within the limelight.
Flaco squints contentedly in his Central Park pine tree. (picture by and courtesy David Lei)
Flaco grew to become a sensation to the town’s birding group and normal inhabitants alike as 1000’s rooted for him in his transition from ambivalent animal-in-captivity to majestic hen of prey. Lei and Emery documented Flaco’s development from the day of his escape by means of his surprising demise in late February 2024 after he struck a constructing — his toxicology report got here again with optimistic outcomes of pigeon herpesvirus and publicity to a number of rodenticides.
Having encountered Flaco some 150 occasions, Lei and Emery had 1000’s of images of Flaco coming into himself as a charismatic, curious, and impartial owl towards all odds after 10 years confined on the zoo.
One in every of Flaco’s a number of encounters with squirrels (picture by and courtesy David Lei)
Photographs of the magnificent raptor nestled in tree branches and chowing down on metropolis rats are juxtaposed with pictures of him perched on development autos and lively worksites, evaluating his environment and understanding his place within the massive metropolis like so many people as we slink underneath scaffolding and weave by means of site visitors limitations.
“In a city of immigrants, Flaco was a stranger living in a strange land and doing his best to adapt,” Lei and Emery wrote to Hyperallergic. “He was an eligible bachelor, but could not find the love he sought. He was a symbol for those seeking hope and inspiration and a gateway for appreciating owls and other wildlife.”
“But, for us, Flaco was not a metaphor — he was an individual with a unique personality who lived for his own benefit,” Lei and Emery continued. “He was also our dear winged friend whose legacy lives on in efforts to make New York safer for raptors and other wildlife.”
Flaco confirmed common curiosity about development initiatives in and round Central Park. (picture by and courtesy Jacqueline Emery)
Along with Lei and Emery’s picture-perfect compositions, the pair thoughtfully describe their and others’ encounters with the hen, completely reporting on Flaco’s searching and roosting habits, his newfound proclivity for normal hooting (regular owl conduct that he by no means participated in whereas on the zoo), his acclimation to squirrel neighbors, his journey to the East Village, and his fascination with air con models and residential window peeping, amongst different observations.
The digicam loves Flaco! (picture by and courtesy Jacqueline Emery)
When his premature demise got here round simply three weeks after his first anniversary of life within the wild, Lei, Emery, and all of New York mourned Flaco and what he unknowingly got here to signify. The onslaught of heavy feelings manifested themselves in heartfelt illustrations and letters positioned at his memorial tree in Central Park in addition to public artwork all through the town.
“The outpouring of grief and love, as well as a subsequent debate over the plight of animals in captivity and the danger of rat poisons to raptors, demonstrate that, for many people, Flaco was always more than simply an owl,” Lei and Emery informed Hyperallergic.
Holding the owl’s reminiscence alive in perpetuity, Discovering Flaco is on the market by means of the New York Historic.
Invoice Hutchinson’s “Flaco on the Roof” (2024) remembers the hen’s enchantment with each freedom and residential structure. (picture courtesy Invoice Hutchinson)
The common wingspan for a male Eurasian eagle-owl is 5’2″! (picture by and courtesy David Lei)
Martha Nishida’s coloured pencil on cardstock drawing of Flaco is featured within the e-book alongside the {photograph} reference. (picture courtesy Martha Nishida)
Standing out among the many naked branches throughout New York’s colder seasons, Flaco perches magnificently together with his ear tufts alert and marking his iconic silhouette. (picture by and courtesy David Lei)
