Hunting in Central Park

One man’s urban safari

Author

David Friedman
June 11, 2024

I’ve never been a hunter, so I don’t know what it’s like to look down the barrel of a rifle and kill an animal. The closest I ever came to it was watching that episode of Silver Spoons where Ricky Schroder goes hunting with his dad and grandfather and is overcome with guilt after shooting a deer. He only wounds it and can’t bring himself to kill it so his grandfather has to finish it off. Between tears, Ricky asks, “Dad, did you see his eyes?” It was pretty traumatizing.

When Ricky hesitates, he grandfather says, “Go on.”

You know who must not have been traumatized by that episode? Ricky Schroder, who posts gruesome photos of his hunting trips on Instagram.

I suppose things might be different if I lived someplace where hunting was a big part of the culture, but I’ve pretty much been a city guy most of my life, and there’s not much hunting in urban parks.

At least, there isn’t anymore.

Back in 1910, hunting was actually allowed in Central Park, but only for one man. His name was Archer Hazzler, and he hunted Central Park with a .36-caliber Remington rifle. The Parks Department hired him to “rid the parks of their undesirable animal citizens.”

He was a war veteran and a decorated sharpshooter who had hunted all over the world. And now he spent every day hunting small animals in the middle of Manhattan.

Archer Hazzler hunting with the Plaza Hotel in the background

Surely, you must be thinking, he is hunting things like rats so the park may be more enjoyable without so many rodents. And yes, he was hunting rats. But he also hunted more majestic animals.

As the New York Times reported in 1910, he hunted hawks, owls, eagles, and more:

Within a few days Hazzler brought down a large eagle soaring above the Park near Fifth Avenue above the Ramble. He had caught several glimpses of this visitor, but it was very wary, and for a number of days contrived to keep out of range.

One of the most curious specimens to be bagged recently was a great black hawk. The specimen was a new one to Hazzler, and even the Museums have no similar specimen.

Good thing he killed it then?

These days, when animals like that make Central Park their home, they become local celebrities, like Pale Male the hawk and Flaco the owl.

Hazzler tried hunting with a dog for a while. It seemed promising when the dog rooted out stray cats hiding in little caves on the north end of the park. Hazzler managed to kill thousands of stray cats.

But the dog just as enthusiastically chased squirrels, which weren’t on the kill list. The Times reported that “the dog was dropped from the payrole of the Park Department then and there” which I really hope isn’t a euphemism.

Archer Hazzler enjoying a lovely morning in the park on a boat with his rifle.

Here’s how Hazzler would go about his work:

Hazzler’s method of hunting is very simple. He keeps a small boat ready to be launched on the lakes and, rifle in hand, gently paddles along the shores. These expeditions are usually undertaken early in the mornings before the public is astir.

Early risers in the great buildings facing the Park have doubtless heard the persistent crack, crack of a rifle near by and wondered at it…

The Park sharpshooter must, of course, be extremely cautious in his hunting not to interfere with the safety of the general public. So well has he done his work that there has never been an accident, never a stray shot for all the thousands of birds and animals he has brought in.

He avoids the more frequented sections of the Park, and especially the walks or drives. For this reason very few people of the millions who constantly visit the parks have ever caught a glimpse of him.

But some day if you chance upon a wiry, alert little man wearing a rough rider hat with a faded gilt cord and carrying a polished rifle in his hand you will know that it is he.

Archer Hazzler didn’t just hunt in Central Park. He actually hunted in all the city parks. So if you stepped out of the midtown library and saw an eagle circling Bryant Park looking hungry, who you gonna call? Archer Hazzler!

These days, if a wayward coyote or other unexpected animal makes its way to Central Park, you call the NYPE Emergency Services Unit and they will tranquilize and rescue the animal.

Today, the Central Park Conservancy still shoots animals. With a camera. (You saw that coming, I know, but sometimes you just gotta grab the low-hanging fruit). They post photos of the park’s birds and other creatures on their Instagram page and they have a whole section of stories just about wildlife.

So, while I might not be a hunter, I'm glad Central Park's animals can now live in peace, and that Ricky Schroder has turned his attention to UFOs hovering over his house that he blames on Elon Musk because he thinks it was foretold in the bible.

Okay! Wow, that really went places. When I put this little piece of history on my list of things to talk about, I didn’t expect to involve Ricky Schroder, but I sat down to write and here we are.

Remember when he was on that show 24 and he decided he was going to be called Rick Schroder now, and the world was like, naaah, you’re always going to be Ricky.

Good times. Yeah, anyway, thanks as always for reading, and I’ll see you next time!

David

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