After the Flaco documentary wrapped in June 2025, locals featured include Javier Torres (seated in the middle) and Juan Rosado (far right).
Reporting and photos by Stacie Joy
“Wild Inside,” a new documentary about Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who captivated New Yorkers after escaping from the Central Park Zoo in 2023, makes its theatrical debut Friday (July 31) at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue at Third Street.
The film, directed by Penny Lane, follows Flaco’s unlikely journey through the city — including the eight days he spent roaming the East Village and Lower East Side in November 2023.
Flaco first arrived in the neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2023, when he was spotted at the Kenkeleba House Garden off Avenue B and Third Street. Over the following week, he turned up at several locations on the East Side, drawing birders, photographers and curious neighbors hoping to catch a glimpse.
Among those featured in the documentary are barber Juan Rosado and photographer Javier Torres.
Rosado said Flaco’s visit left a lasting impression.
“He meant a lot because he landed above my window,” he recalled. “I missed him by one minute.”
After racing to his rooftop and finding the owl gone, Rosado, also a noted photographer who lives in the East Village, tried to predict where Flaco might head next.
“I said to myself, ‘Where would I run to if I were an owl?'” he said. “Sure enough, he went to Grand Street and Lewis.”
Rosado believes Flaco lingered there after spotting the owl statues mounted on a nearby school before eventually returning to the East Village, where neighbors reported hearing his nighttime hoots as he searched for a mate.
For Torres, an LES resident, photographing Flaco was an unforgettable experience.
“It was magical,” he said. “I felt like a kid seeing a magic show for the first time.”
After hearing reports that Flaco was near the Hillman Co-ops, Torres grabbed his camera and joined a group of bird photographers and news crews searching for the owl.
Photo from November on the LES by Javier Torres via @vinweasel_
“We could hear his deep hoots, but visibility was poor,” he said. “I managed to gain access to the rooftop where he was. I took about 15 shots, and he flew away.”
Juan Rosado and Javier Torres yesterday
Flaco died in February 2024 after colliding with a building on the Upper West Side.
But for a memorable week in November 2023, the East Village and Lower East Side became an unexpected stop on his journey — one now preserved on film.