Owl escapes from the Central Park Zoo at the hands of vandals and continues to elude rescue

“The zoo’s current focus and efforts are on the safe recovery of the owl,” NPR also reported.

Flaco means thin in Spanish. Flaco himself, in captivity for 12 years after New York Postlooks pleasantly rounded.

Many eagle-eyed New Yorkers have spotted Flaco in and around Central Park since the wily bird of prey saw its opening and grabbed it on Thursday.

The NYPD’s 19th Precinct was among the onlookers who caught sight of — and snapped photos of — Flaco’s adventures outside the pen.

“Well that was a hoot,” the precinct tweeted. “We tried to help this little sage, but he got fed up with his growing audience and flew away,” they said, adding that Flaco “was last seen flying south on 5th Avenue.”

On Sunday, Julia Austin tweeted a quartet of photos of a similar-looking owl she believes is Flaco. She expressed concern that Flaco might not be eating, but was relieved the bird was “safe”. Austin’s Twitter bio reveals that she is an associate professor at Harvard Business School.

“Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl, soaring above Central Park’s Hallett Sanctuary on Friday, ear tufts flapping in the cold wind,” Manhattan Bird Alert tweeted Saturday, including video of the gorgeous fugitive perched in a tree.

On Sunday, Manhattan Bird Alert said they believe Flaco hasn’t eaten since he escaped.

NYC Parks tweeted Friday that their rangers were “on the case.” At the time, they said Flaco was “healthy,” and they asked parkgoers to give time and space to facilitate the rescue.

The vandalism of Flaco’s enclosure is one of a series of disturbing incidents that have harmed zoo animals.

A dozen squirrel monkeys were stolen from Zoosiana, a zoo outside of Lafayette, Louisiana, over the weekend. Butler Adler reported. Several local, state, and federal agencies were investigating the incident, the outlet also said.

A suspect was arrested Thursday in incidents involving clouded leopards, langur monkeys and emperor tamarin monkeys at the Dallas Zoo. Davion Irvin, 24, faces quadruple counts of animal cruelty (non-livestock) and two counts of burglary in the bizarre case.

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