Global Courant 2023-04-27 10:07:05
A man was bitten Wednesday night by a “vicious” peacock that likely escaped from New York’s Bronx Zoo.
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) responded to an 911 call at about 8 p.m. from a man, identified as Mike, who said the escaped peacock had bitten him after trying to pull the brightly feathered bird to safety.
“We were outside chilling, you know, smoking, you know, whatever and I thought I was a nuisance,” Mike told the New York Daily News. “I thought I was high.”
The peacock, named Raul, flew to safety in a large tree in a park in the Bronx, New York City, on Wednesday, April 26, after biting a man in the thigh. (WNYW)
Mike shared that he tried to corral the wild bird, but he quickly lashed out and bit it on the thigh.
“Then the mother flew into the tree,” Mike told the outlet. “I didn’t know they could fly.”
ST. LOUIS ZOO’S ESCAPE ARTIST BEAR GOES TO A TEXAS ZOO WITH A MOOT
Despite their beautiful and graceful presence, peacocks are known to be territorial and especially aggressive during the mating season. According to bird fact. comWhile peacocks do not typically fly, they will if forced to evade danger and threats, cross obstacles such as rivers, or fly into trees to roost at night.
Peacock perched on a tree. (WNYW)
Video from the feathered fugitive shows the bird perched in Vidalia Park, a popular park in the Bronx’s West Farms neighborhood. Spectators would have called the escaped bird Raul.
The runaway bird is about three feet long and its head is topped with a flamboyant green plume.
NYC ZOO OWL ESCAPES BECOME A LOCAL CELEBRITY
“That’s the peacock, it’s in the tree, I think they should leave it there,” user CGutter said in a Video from the Citizen app. “I’m not going to lie, it brings out the neighborhood. Everyone wants to see this. He’s beautiful. Everyone says it’s a he, so I’ll take your example.”
Peacock hiding in the branches of a tree after trying to escape. (WNYW)
“It’s cruel,” another spectator is heard to say.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The police and fire brigade tried to catch the peacock, but they were not successful on Wednesday evening. The Bronx Zoo did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the escaped bird.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a writer on Fox News Digital’s breaking news team. You can reach her on Twitter at @s_rumpfwhiteten.
