Keeping up with Flaco

Brut America

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.

Transcript

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.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended