Beloved NYC owl Flaco’s official cause of death revealed

Flaco the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who soared freely around the city after escaping from the Central Park Zoo a year ago died from “acute traumatic injury,” according to newly released necropsy results.

The Wildlife Conservation Society on Saturday released details of the winged local celebrity’s initial post-mortem, which was performed a day after he flew into the side of an Upper West Side building.

Pathologists at the Bronx Zoo found that Flaco’s 4.1-pound body absorbed most of the fatal impact, saying there was “substantial hemorrhage under the sternum and in the back of the body cavity around the liver.”

Flaco appeared to be spared head trauma, although there was a “small amount of bleeding” behind his left eye, the report said.

None of the owl’s bones were fractured or broken, according to the preliminary findings.

The necropsy found that Flaco had been doing well before his death, having lost only an ounce or two since his escape, and keeping up his health with “good muscling and adequate fat stores.”