BOSTON (WHDH) – A Boston police officer was forced to get creative while wrangling a wayward peacock Monday morning.
An officer on patrol near the Franklin Park Zoo around 6 a.m. was approached by a concerned citizen who said that an animal was on the loose in the area, according to the Boston Police Department.
When backup arrived at the scene, officers were met by an “extremely large, slightly intimidating, and quite beautiful, male peacock,” police said.
Officer Patrick Sullivan looked up a peacock mating call on his cellphone.
Sullivan said that nothing in his two years on the force could prepare him for a day like this one.
“I thought to myself ‘I need to go see this,” Sullivan said after hearing the scanner call. “Myself and about a half dozen officers spent a prolonged period just chasing this thing through the streets.”
Boston Animal Control was called to escort the peacock back to its home.
In a statement, the Franklin Park Zoo said:
“The peacocks at Franklin Park Zoo are free-roaming, and while they typically wander throughout the Zoo, it is currently mating season, and it’s possible he ventured out looking for love.”
It was that lust for life that Sullivan said helped him to guide the wayward peacock into a fenced-in yard.
“Once he heard the mating call he just started following me,” he explained. “Once he was safely in the yard we just closed the door and thought ‘we’ll just wait for animal control.’”
Sullivan says he was grateful to see his peacock admirer brought back home safely, but does feel bad for catfishing the lonely bird.
“I feel a little guilty for deceiving him, but I know the dating scene right now in Boston is a challenge, especially with everything going on.”
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