George the Peacock really needs a forever home. There's a lot more to this story than I'd reasonably expect anyone to read, so here's the short version. I'm happy to fill in more for anyone interested. The bottom line is this bird needs a home, but catching him is not easy - not at all. Several peacock-experienced individuals and groups have tried multiple times with no luck, so don't just think you'll walk up with some peacock chow and he'll jump in your arms.
A family across Futch Creek (where we live) used to have four peacocks. For various peacock reasons they've left (the birds, not the people). The family isn't interested in getting them back. So this guy, and he is a male named George, had been hanging around our neighborhood since the summer of 2007. The photo above was taken in March of this year. He's still around but his tail feathers have molted (they're gone) - but they'll be back next spring (it's a mating season thing).
Anyway, George can fly and if you try to catch him he does just that - up on the roof of the nearest house. He isn't too much problem and he's really a gorgeous bird, but he drives the dogs crazy - seems like he knows it and prances back and forth in full view of dogs (our dog Pepper anyway) and the dogs go nuts. Twice Pepper got loose and tried to catch him and as soon as George realized he couldn't waddle faster than Pepper can run he went airborne.
Another issue with George is that we live on a corner of a winding road and sometimes George wanders into the middle - he's likely to get hit sometime and could cause an accident. Fortunately neither has happened yet.
Below are two more shots of George from March 2008, in full display, taunting Pepper on our back deck. One from the front, and the other from the back (I think George was intentionally mooning Pepper).
If you are interested in catching (and preferably owning and keeping) George, give me a call at 910-297-8753 or e-mail me at brucerbrown@yahoo.com.
Please realize that catching George won't be easy. It also could be dangerous as they get pretty vicious (I'm told) when cornered and caught. I'm also told safe catching (for the bird and for the catcher) involves heavy blankets, eye protection, heavy gloves, and probably a heavy jacket as well. The jury is still out if
tranquilizer darts would work and be safe for George. If so, that would be a snap because he only runs away if you chase him. If someone did catch him there are any number of folks who'd like him to live at their place, but none of those folks, several of them who already own peacocks locally, have been able to catch poor George.
