Blameless, but nevertheless on the run. On Madison Avenue, 2023. (image via NYPD)
The news this weekend that the Central Part Zoo would suspend efforts at re-incarcerating Flaco, the majestic Eurasian eagle-owl on the lam, struck a chord with many in the city and across the country. Let Flaco be Flaco! came the peoples refrain. Stop locking him up!
The re-capture efforts were being suspended because Flaco the owl was not only surviving in the wilds of Central Park, but thriving on Central Park rats, the city’s — how does one put this kindly — least popular residents. The entire raison d’etre for his re-captivity had quite simply evaporated overnight.
Further, who could blame Flaco, who escaped February 2nd after vandals cut open his stainless steel enclosure? Was he supposed to stick around and find out what the vandals wanted? Flaco was built for finer things. And — on that train of thought — how is Flaco supposed to play the charming gamine when the zoo itself failed miserably in its job as lord protector?
So Flaco — which, btw, means “skinny” in Spanish — did an Irish exit. The 19th Precinct of Upper Manhattan was put on the case. As if they didn’t have better things to do. The excuse for the re-capture efforts were that Flaco, being a “kept owl” for so long, could not possibly navigate the city …
But a funny thing happened.
Flaco navigated the city better than anyone at the zoo or the 19th Precinct or the entire colonialist patriarchy could imagine. Flaco, as it happens, went from rags to social media riches, all by himself. Thousands of photographers camped out in the park, searching for that perfect well-lit picture to post on social media of the fugitive from The Man.
It became a legitimate thing, Flaco’s fugitive outlawism. “That’s amazing,” David Barrett, who runs the Twitter accounts Manhattan Bird Alert, Brooklyn Bird Alert and Bronx Bird Alert, told The Guardian. “He’s made a remarkable move from being a captive owl to being in the wild much faster than anyone would have expected. He’s catching prey on his own. He continues to fly better and better. He seems to be enjoying himself out there.” Flaco became the breakout star of Manhattan Bird Alert after 10 years in captivity. He has even inspired fan art. You know you’ve made it when you inspire fan art.
It is a story worthy of a podcast, at the very least. He has a devoted following on Twitter. There are (many, many) posts of him expelling pellets, proof of his natural hunting instincts kicking in. He also has a devoted following on Instagram, with over 125,000 hashtagged posts — #Flaco — from as far away as Italy.
And the photography is quite stunning. Even when Flaco is yawning, it is a social media event. It is impossible to deny that Flaco is really, really amazing to look at — as fetching as any movie star. The piercing, liquid gaze. The awe-inspiring wingspan. That perfect pedicure. Even the tabloidal tussles with squirrels. Amateur photographers parked out in Central Park are not unlike paparazzo stalking the Soho Grand in search of the Kardashians. Flaco, it seems, has made it. The best thing about that is that Flaco couldn’t give a damn.
Comments SquirrelsofCentralPark:
Flaco has proven himself to be an inspirational and gritty New Yorker and we’re so lucky to have him in our beautiful Park!
The crime would be keeping Flaco in an enclosure after he has won so many hearts. It certainly brings up some interesting questions about zoos and the freedom of animals.
That having been said, I am more than a little worried about Microsoft’s AI Bing Chatbot Sydney. Does that make me a bad person?
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