NEW YORK – It was an unusual accident in New York. A peacock that allegedly escaped from the Bronx Zoo caused quite the spectacle Wednesday night after it allegedly pecked at a man on a sidewalk in the Bronx.
Neighbors called the exotic bird ‘fierce’ after it allegedly chased the man around 8pm near the corner of 180th East there Vice Avenue, just two blocks south of the zoo. Then it flew to a nearby tree in the vicinity of Western Farms.
Zoo officials said the peacock would be one of hundreds they keep and they are free-ranging birds.
“The Bronx Zoo has free-roaming peacocks living in the grounds. The birds roost in the trees at night. We are concerned that trucks and live media cameras will prevent the peacock from being able to return to the zoo on its own “, the zoo said in a statement.
The man who saw the peacock on the sidewalk said he tried to grab it, and that’s when he pecked it. Police and firefighters arrived shortly after, and the fire department (FDNY, for its acronym in English), confirmed that they had responded to a call related to an animal attack and then treated the man at the scene.
The man who encountered the bird was not seriously injured and appeared to be in good spirits after the attack.
“It just started coming up the hill in traffic. You know, we had to try to keep the bird safe. We chased it, I caught it inside the door, it snuck up. got tired of the door, then he tried to peck me,” the man said.
Another witness said the peacock, whom the community named Raúl, then flew to safety in the tree, about 10 feet above the ground.
The Bronx Zoo said the peacocks are sleeping in the trees and are hoping the bird will come down soon. A zoo official said there were no plans to send a team to retrieve the bird, but asked others to refrain from enlightening him.