Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, lived enclosed at the Central Park Zoo,
New York, until Feb 2023, when his cage was cut by a vandal. The
bird, the only member of its species in the Western hemisphere, lived
successfully in the city for just over a year. Recently he was found
dead, having apparently flown into the side of a tall apartment building.
Someone cut the wire of Flaco’s cage
and New York City became this owl’s stage;
he starred there for a year, a leading man,
an elegant six-footer in his wingspan.
Each night he hunted rats, rabbits, voles . . .
unwary cats, hot dogs on mustard rolls.
No rocky cliffs were found in all his searches
so fire escapes made decent sleeping perches.
A gawking audience could be a problem.
He often wished that crows would swoop and mob ’em.
He’d watch the people strolling two by two
and he was stirred to see them bill and coo.
One winter day, as he flew round,
his eagle-owl heart began to pound:
there, a beauty! Buffy breast, well-streaked,
glinting amber eyes – his hormones peaked –
he sped straight to the image on the glass,
then tumbled to the sidewalk, gone, alas.
“Appearances can fool you.” That cliché
pulled the curtain on his smash hit play.
