Rover the Bald Eagle, a Central Park celebrity, died on Monday after being struck by a vehicle on the West Side Highway while scavenging for a small animal, according to Manhattan Bird Alert, a popular Manhattan birding social media account.

Rover was named after his R7 identification tag, which was placed on him shortly after his hatching in May of 2018 in Connecticut. He shot to fame in January 2022 when he hunted in Brooklyn and Manhattan, including over the Central Park Reservoir.

https://www.westsiderag.com/2024/02/21/rover-the-bald-eagle-central-park-celebrity-killed-by-vehicle-on-west-side-highway

A necropsy, to be performed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, will provide the most definitive answers. His initial examination, performed Friday by the Wild Bird Fund, a rescue group, showed a contusion on his chest and an impact to his right eye. He may have been dead by the time he hit the ground, said Rita McMahon, the group’s director. If not, the impact from the fall may have killed him.

But the examination also indicated that he was thin, possibly underweight.

“He wasn’t truly thriving,” Ms. McMahon said.

Preliminary gross findings from his necropsy by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Central Park Zoo, are expected as early as Saturday, a spokeswoman said. The results of testing on tissue samples are expected in coming weeks.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/climate/flaco-owl-city-dangers.html

New York City, Feb. 24, 2024 – The following statement was released by Central Park Zoo:

Bronx Zoo pathologists performed a necropsy today on Flaco, the Central Park Zoo’s Eurasian eagle owl, who died yesterday evening after reportedly colliding with a Manhattan building.

The initial findings are consistent with death due to acute traumatic injury. The main impact appears to have been to the body, as there was substantial hemorrhage under the sternum and in the back of the body cavity around the liver. There also was a small amount of bleeding behind the left eye, but otherwise there was no evidence of head trauma. No bone fractures were found. Flaco was in good body condition at the time of death, with good muscling and adequate fat stores. His last weight taken at the Central Park Zoo was 1.9 kg (4.2 lb). He was 1.86 kg (4.1bs) at necropsy.

The next step will be to identify any underlying factors that may have negatively affected his health or otherwise contributed to the event. This will include microscopic examination of tissue samples; toxicology tests to evaluate potential exposures to rodenticides or other toxins; and testing for infectious diseases such as West Nile Virus and Avian Influenza. Results from this testing will take weeks to be completed.

Flaco’s tragic and untimely death highlights the issue of bird strikes and their devastating effects on wild bird populations. It is estimated that nearly one quarter of a million birds die annually in New York City as a result of colliding with buildings.

https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22060/Initial-Necropsy-Findings-for-Flaco-Are-Consistent-with-Death-Due-to-Acute-Traumatic-Injury.aspx