--- title: "Scientists Find Grim Diseases During Autopsy of NYC’s Flaco the Owl" description: "After his tragic death, veterinarians have found underlying illnesses in the body of New York City's beloved owl, Flaco." date: "2024-03-26" modified: "2024-03-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/flaco-owl-illnesses" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "animals" - "owl" - "the digest" - "zoo" --- # Scientists Find Grim Diseases During Autopsy of NYC’s Flaco the Owl ![After his tragic death, veterinarians have found underlying illnesses in the body of New York City's beloved owl, Flaco.]() *\Image: Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty / Futurism\* ## Postmortem After his [tragic death from flying into a building](), veterinary pathologists from the Bronx Zoo have found some underlying — and likely fatal — illnesses in the body of Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl. In a [press release](), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced that Flaco, who [escaped from the Central Park Zoo]() over a year ago and was [found dead]() after hitting a building in Manhattan's Upper West Side last month, did die of fatal trauma from his crash — but he also appeared to have a severe pigeon herpesvirus that likely was the result of eating the common fowl as the primary source of his diet. Unfortunately, however, that wasn't the only thing the Bronx Zoo vets found. When doing Flaco's autopsy, they discovered that he seemed to have ingested four different anticoagulant rodenticides. As anyone who's ever taken the [NYC subway]() can attest, rat poison is basically everywhere in the city, as are the vermin themselves. As the WCS notes, the combination of the herpesvirus and the toxicity from the rat poison could well have caused the Eurasian eagle owl to become disoriented. "These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury," the press release reads, "and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building." https://twitter.com/flaco_theowl/status/1761784922610516314 ## Carrier Pigeons Notably, the herpesvirus could have been carried by healthy pigeons — but when those pigeons are eaten by prey, they can fatally infect them, as has been seen before in New York City. "In Flaco’s case," the WCS press release continues, "the viral infection caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many organs, including the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, and brain." As a 2012 study in [*The Canadian Veterinary Journal*]() explains, Columbid herpesvirus-1 does indeed seem to affect every part of the body in pigeon-eating predators, which includes owls and falcons. What's worse: if Flaco weren't so famous, he might not have been diagnosed at all. "Because of the costs associated with diagnostic testing and the need for access to pathology expertise," the study notes, "few wildlife \[rehabilitation\] centers perform regular postmortem examinations and thus diseases go undiagnosed." Along with the rat poison, Flaco's autopsy also showed trace amounts of DDE, a breakdown product from the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), though there wasn't enough of it in his system to contribute to his death, the WCS said. Ultimately, the death of the beloved Eurasian eagle owl highlights "the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting," the statement said — and it's hard not to agree from this side of Flaco's journey. **More on wildlife:** [*Wildlife Center Employee Dresses as Big Fox to Care for Baby Foxes*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()