Flaco, New York City's beloved Eurasian eagle-owl, died after escaping from Central Park Zoo last February. Zoologists have determined the cause.
Friday evening, zoo officials revealed that Flaco perished after hitting a Manhattan building.
Central Park Zoo says a necropsy by Bronx Zoo pathologists suggests acute traumatic injuries caused death.
They detected significant hemorrhage behind the sternum and in the back of the body cavity around the liver, suggesting the 13-year-old owl was most affected.
A minor amount of bleeding behind the left eye was discovered, but no head injuries was found.
His body had strong muscling and fat storage at death, and the necropsy detected no bone fractures.
A vandal broke into Central Park Zoo at night and cut a hole in Flaco's steel mesh cage, allowing him to escape. He is now a New York City celebrity.
Zoo officials abandoned their efforts to recover the beautiful owl after Flaco thrived in Manhattan's urban wilds.