The definitive art and photography book celebrating Flaco the owl's spectacular year of freedom. Flaco the Eurasian Eagle-owl was destined to spend his life in a small enclosure in the Central Park Zoo, until the night of February 2, 2023 when an unknown liberator cut a hole in his cage and set him free. For two weeks, he eluded the nets and traps of zoo authorities who were determined that he couldn't survive on his own, but Flaco proved them wrong - learning to hunt, fly, and make the city his home. Flaco's freedom and story inspired a devoted social media following, global news coverage, and fans around the world. As the epitome of freedom, fending for himself and observing the city from tree branches, fire escapes and water towers, Flaco lived unabashedly according to his natural instincts, and inspired his fans to make changes and face adversity in their own lives. But urban environments can be brutal for wild birds, with the constant dangers of glass buildings and rodenticide. Weeks after his one-year anniversary of freedom, Flaco struck a window on the Upper West Side and died from blunt trauma and the compromising effects of a viral infection and four kinds of rodenticide. In the days after his passing, mourners left flowers and mementos (notes, drawings, paintings, photographs and handmade objects) at the base of Flaco's favorite oak tree in Central Park, and on March 3rd, hundreds gathered to celebrate his legacy with remembrances, music, and poetry.
FLACO is a visually-rich, illustrated tribute to Flaco's story of determination, survival, and living life on his own terms. The book includes more than 60 photographs of Flaco (roosting, flying, hunting, and returning the gaze of his many admirers), the artwork that Flaco inspired, and a selection of the memorial objects left at the base of Flaco's favorite tree, making this the only work where they have been published. Photographers include Chris Ang, David Barrett, Paul Beiboer, Sheryl Checkman, Molly Eustis and Anke Frohlich. Featured visual artists include Calicho Arevalo and Bill Hutchinson. As one 9-year-old wrote on a note at the base of Flaco's tree, "One free bird can change people's lives," and FLACO celebrates all the ways that one free bird changed lives and inspired our own humanity.