They are calling this brazen bird “a real HOO-Dini.”
An owl was on the loose on the Upper East Side Thursday, after vandals let it get free from its enclosure at the Central Park Zoo, officials said.
The Eurasian Eagle-owl named Flaco was discovered missing from its exhibit at 8:30 p.m., a zoo spokesman said in a statement.
“The exhibit had been vandalized and the stainless steel mesh cut,” the spokesman said.
About a half hour later, Upper East Siders spotted Flaco on Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street and notified the NYPD.
But the nocturnal bird of prey proved to be too slippery for officers and got away, cops said.
“Well, that was a hoot,” the NYPD’s 19th Precinct tweeted. “We tried to help this lil wise guy, but he had enough of his growing audience & flew off.”
“@NYCParks Rangers, be on the lookout — he was last seen flying south on 5th Avenue.”
The NYPD’s Central Park precinct dubbed him “a recidivist in our area that magically disappears into the night, a real HOO-Dini.”
Flaco made another appearance in the early morning hours, but vanished by dawn, zoo officials said.
“Zoo staff located the owl perched in a tree near the zoo and stayed with it throughout the night,” the spokesman said. “At sunrise this morning, the owl flew from the tree on 5th Avenue and into Central Park where we continue to have visual contact with the bird. Our focus and effort at this time is on the safe recovery of the owl. We will issue updates as needed.”
He had not been captured by Friday afternoon.
By that time, police had no information on who could have been behind the vandalism.
Eurasian Eagle-owls are native to parts of Europe, Asia and northern Africa – and live in wooded habitats, according to the Peregrine Fund.
