An owl has escaped from its enclosure at the Central Park Zoo after vandals cut a hole in its exhibit, the New York City Parks Department said.

The brazen bird, a Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco, was discovered missing from his exhibit around 8.30pm on Thursday night.

According to Central Park Zoo, Flaco’s exhibit had been sabotaged earlier that day and its mesh wiring cut.

Flaco hadn’t flown far, however – he was spotted less than a block east of Central Park on Fifth Avenue.

Locals reached out to the NYPD, who responded and tried to rescue the avian. The officers roped off a perimeter, and tried to coax the owl into a pet carrier.

‘We tried to help this lil wise guy, but he had enough of his growing audience & flew off,’ the NYPD’s 19th Precinct tweeted.

Flaco eventually landed high up in a tree in Hallett Nature Sanctuary overlooking the Pond in Central Park’s southeast corner. He is being closely monitored by Parks Department staff.

Some onlookers expressed concern for the stranded bird, as New York City prepares for an upcoming ‘arctic blast’ of cold weather. However, experts confirmed to ABC7 that Eurasian eagle-owls are well suited for the cold weather. They are more concerned that Flaco will not be able to find food in the wild.

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