Who Let the Owl Out? Central Park Zoo Bird ‘Missing’ After Fowl Play

One of Central Park’s most notable residents took an unscheduled flight late Thursday, leading to an all-night standoff between zoo staff and Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl.

Central Park Zoo officials first noticed trouble around 8:30 p.m. when the bird’s exhibit had been vandalized and its stainless steel mash was cut. Flaco, they realized, was missing.

A team was quickly assembled and dispatched in search of the bird. Luckily, they didn’t have to look too far before Flaco was spotted just outside the park on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue.

The owl caught the attention of onlookers (lucky enough to get an up-close view without paying for a ticket) after Flaco landed on the sidewalk. Attempts to corral the bird were unsuccessful and he flew off to a nearby tree.

Zoo staff found the owl perched in the tree, not far from his home, and kept a close watch all through the night. The zoo said staff were on hand until around sunrise when Flaco finally his next move.

The owl took flight headed for the park, “where we continue to have visual contact with the bird,” the zoo said.

And that’s where the owl was last spotted late Friday morning, near 6th Avenue and Central Park South.