NYC is no stranger to animal icons, from Rover the bald eagle to Central Park’s mandarin duck, but one animal has always stood out from the rest, and that was Flaco.
Flaco, the Eurasion eagle-owl, was an NYC icon that originally escaped from the Central Park Zoo after vandals had damaged the bird’s enclosure. After flying freely over NYC for over a year, the beloved owl tragically collided into a NYC building, where a necropsy showed it wasn’t just the injuries that killed Flaco, but a variety of rodenticides he had consumed from eating feral pigeons.
The bird’s death drove bird watchers and New Yorkers into a frenzy, as some left mementos at Flaco’s Central Park tribute and the “Flaco Fan Club” hosted a memorial service. Tattoo artists in Brooklyn were even offering to immortalize the owl on your skin with flash Flaco tattoos.
Wildlife photographers Jacqueline Emery and David Lei have taken Flaco’s immortalization one step further by publishing an entire photo book dedicated to the late owl. Titled Finding Flaco, the book explores Flaco’s story and the depth in which he was loved through photographs, stories and artwork.
“Flaco’s resilience, intelligence, curiosity and, of course, his beauty, were deeply inspiring to [Emery and Lei]. And he was incredibly generous, often permitting [the two] to observe him live his new life as a wild owl until late into the night.”
Emery and Lei had observed Flaco more than 150 times, carefully capturing and amassing more than 200 photographs showcasing his journey of learning to adapt to the four seasons, hunt on his own, fly, and explore NYC within the book. “Although Flaco’s adventures in the city ended tragically, his legacy lives on,” reads the book’s website.
The book was in the works even before Flaco’s passing. Though originally unsure whether they wanted to proceed following his death, Emery and Lei believed it was important to celebrate Flaco’s life and accomplishments.
Finding Flaco is available for purchase on Amazon for any Flaco admirers you may know.