The Real Cause of Death Revealed for Bulakko the Owl Loved by New Yorkers

The screech owl 'Flaco,' who had captured the hearts of New Yorkers, was revealed to have died last month due to rat poison and a pigeon virus.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Bronx Zoo announced on the 25th (local time) in a statement that the results of an autopsy conducted on Flaco showed this. Flaco, who had been freely roaming the skies of Manhattan for a year after escaping from the Central Park Zoo in New York, was found lying on the roadside in the Upper West Side area of Manhattan on the 23rd of last month and was dead by the time an ornithologist arrived at the scene. Initially, it was presumed that Flaco died from traumatic injuries caused by hitting the exterior wall of a building.

However, further autopsy results confirmed that Flaco had been exposed to four types of rat poison during his year of free wild life, and that the pigeon herpes virus had severely damaged his brain, liver, spleen, bone marrow, and other organs. This herpes virus can cause particularly fatal diseases in raptors, including Flaco. Additionally, the four types of rat poison Flaco was exposed to are the kinds commonly used by New York City for rodent control. It is analyzed that Flaco was exposed to rat poison and viruses while feeding on rats and pigeons during his wild life.

The zoo stated, "These factors can cause weakness and be fatal even without traumatic injuries," and added, "Flaco's severe illness and death ultimately highlight the combination of factors such as infectious diseases, toxic exposure, and traumatic injuries that wild birds face in urban environments." Flaco's weight was 4.1 pounds, slightly less than the last measurement taken at the zoo about a year ago. Both muscle mass and fat levels were found to be adequate, and there were no signs of head trauma or broken bones.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Born in 2010, Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo in early February last year through a fence wire that someone had deliberately damaged. The zoo and the New York Police Department (NYPD) tried to capture Flaco by luring him with food, but he chose a life of freedom. About ten days later, sightings of Flaco hunting rats and flying away, eating rats, and spitting out bones after meals were confirmed, earning him the title of "the owl that learned to hunt rats," and New Yorkers cheered his every move. Not only ornithologists but also general tourists flocked to Central Park to find Flaco and share photos of his daily life.

Among these, the news of Flaco's death after about a year led to a wave of mourning among New Yorkers. Earlier this month, a memorial gathering was held in front of the oak tree where Flaco often appeared. Participants read poetry together and shared how Flaco had inspired and moved them. As of that day, about 4,300 people had signed an online petition to erect a life-sized statue of Flaco in Central Park. Another petition, calling for a reinvestigation into the person who damaged the fence wire where Flaco lived, has nearly 50,000 signatures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.