The findings, from a necropsy conducted by Bronx Zoo pathologists after Flaco’s death on Feb. 23, validated widespread concerns about the hazards he faced living as a free bird in Manhattan for just over a year.
Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists determined Flaco had the “severe” pigeon herpesvirus from “eating feral pigeons that had become part of his diet,” and said the four different rodenticides in his system “are commonly used for rat control in New York City.”
Flaco the Owl, whose high-flying adventures captivated Big Apple dwellers for more than a year after his escape from the Central Park Zoo, was ravaged by herpesvirus he contracted from eating New York City pigeons and a toxic soup of four different rat poisons when he died, a necropsy has revealed.
