Fugitive Central Park Zoo Owl Eludes UES Police Tactics On Madison Ave

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A posh owl gave Upper East Side police officers a flight of fancy on Madison Avenue Thursday night.

Turns out, the owl is a known fugitive from the Central Park Zoo.

Zoo officials said that an Eurasian eagle owl, also known as an Uhu, was discovered missing from its exhibit at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night. Officials said the enclosure had been vandalized and a person had cut the stainless steel mesh wire.

A special zoo team was mobilized to help locate the lost bird, which apparently just wanted a taste of the high life.

About an hour later, concerned residents spotted an odd looking owl traversing Madison Avenue and immediately reached out for help via Twitter.

"Please help, this owl is on the sidewalk, seems scared," one Twitter user asked of the Wild Bird Fund, a non-profit that aids feathered New Yorkers and other city critters.

The group looked for some local help and tagged the 19th Precinct in a post of their own: "Can you rescue an owl?"

Turns out, no.

But responding officers did locate the runaway bird, helping to provide space between Madison Avenue's newest celebrity and a growing crowd of admirers.

Eventually the owl wisened up to the scene and took to the air, flying south on Fifth Avenue, according to NYPD officials.

"Well, that was a hoot," the precinct wrote on Twitter.

Well, that was a hoot 🦉
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. @BirdCentralPark https://t.co/0kolDDBSY1 pic.twitter.com/AO9F7KSGcr
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) February 3, 2023

Eventually the missing owl was found perched in a tree near the zoo, where zoo staffers spent the night watching over the big brave bird.

As the sun came up, zoo officials reported that the owl then flew from its Fifth Avenue tree further into Central Park, adding that staffers continue to maintain visual contact with the bird.

"Our focus and effort at this time is on the safe recovery of the owl," the zoo said in a statement to Patch.

The Eurasian eagle owl is not only one of the largest owls in the world, it also has a massive range of habitat, spanning much of Europe, Russia and Central Asia.

And now, Madison Avenue, too.