Flaco, Central Park Owl, Died With High Levels of Rat Poison in System
Flaco, Central Park Owl, Died With High Levels of Rat Poison in System
A necropsy conducted by the Bronx Zoo found that life-threatening levels of rat poison and a severe pigeon virus contributed to Flaco’s death last month.
Flaco update this morning. Cities are full of hazards for birds of prey. It was nice to think of Flaco being free and living his best life, but he would have been safer in the zoo. I still can’t say that seems like the better option. The enclosures for owls always seem so small in zoos.
One of the more interesting notes from the investigation:
Toxicology tests also revealed trace amounts of DDE, a breakdown product of the pesticide DDT, which has been banned in the United States since the early 1970s. Although the levels detected did not contribute to Flaco’s death, the society said, the finding was a “reminder of the long legacy of DDT and its dire effects on wild bird populations.”
Poisons are a huge problem for birds of prey. They make weakened animals dying of poison easy to catch, and it just accumulates in the bird. Having so many rescues in my news feed, I've seen videos of some of their last moments after being overcome by poison. Poisoning is cruel and indiscriminate.
The use of rat poisons is halted in the city’s parks during nesting season, from February through August, or when a breeding pair of birds of prey is present in or near a park or park area, according to a Parks Department spokesman.
Outside parks, though, such restrictions generally do not apply, and the use of rat poisons is widespread.
I looked up the pigeon herpesvirus he caught from eating infected pigeons and the major issue caused is swelling of the respiratory system. Birds have the highest oxygen requirements of any vertebrate, so this is also a huge problem for a bird.
Flaco was born in captivity and was raised to live protected by people and we let him down. It is romantic to humanize his adventures outdoors, but this was always going to be his fate once he was let out. I'm glad he went swiftly compared to what was going to happen, but he could have contently lived another almost 30 years had he not been "liberated."
He was born to teach us the value of his life, and I hope we at least get that much from what happened to him. 😔
There is more to life than living. Sometimes such freedom can allow some to come to harm, but for a brief moment, the skies were theirs. And we are lucky to have shared it with them.
I love the thought of having cities filled with owls who prey on vermin, instead of poisoning everything, and leaving the concrete jungle empty of life
That's a good point, and a nice sentiment, but I feel the need to point out that the owl actually was poisoned by living in the city.
I got the impression that because we poison rats, and owls ate the rats, that we indirectly poisoned Flaco. We need to control rodents, but i would rather not use poison for this reason. A bit more of a direct changeable thing then the city being inherently poisonous