New York City’s beloved owl Flaco flew into a building and died from the impact on Friday. Zoologists are pursuing answers as to whether toxins or disease played a role in the Eurasian eagle-owl’s death. 

Flaco’s first claim to fame came last year when he was freed from captivity at the Central Park Zoo. During those first few months of freedom, many admiring New Yorkers flocked to 102nd Street to a tree Flaco often frequented in hopes of getting a glimpse of the city-living owl.