Flaco, Beloved Escaped Owl, Died Filled With Rat Poison
Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists found that Flaco had high levels of rodenticide in his system when he died. Flaco, the beloved Eurasian Eagle Owl who was released from Central Park Zoo in New York over a year ago and died last month, was found to have high levels of rodenticide in his body, which led to the discovery of a "debilitating" rodenticide and a "severe" pigeon virus. At least four different rodenticides were found in Flaco's system, which are commonly used for rodent control in the city. The zoo also found that Flaco had caught a severe pigeon virus from consuming feral birds. The rodenticides are believed to have contributed to the death of another owl, Barry the Barred Owl, who died in 2020.
Published : a month ago by Peter Senzamici in Science
UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Flaco, the beloved Eurasian Eagle Owl who was released from his small Central Park Zoo enclosure over a year ago and died last month, was discovered to have high levels of "debilitating" rodenticide in his body, according to a necropsy.
Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists additionally found that Flaco had also caught a "severe" pigeon virus from feasting on the feral birds.
At least four different rodenticides were found in his system, the report stated. Those anticoagulants are commonly used for rodent control around the city, the report states.
"These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building," the Central Park Zoo said in a statement. Bird advocates have long suspected that rodenticides played a role in Flaco's death, as it had in the death of another beloved owl, Barry the Barred Owl, who died in 2020, and numerous other raptors over the years.