I really LOVE seeing peafowl roaming freely in zoos. They're so utterly dazzling that it inspires awe to be able to share their space and really ponder their beauty. Inspiring awe and wonder in people is not so easy in a time when extraordinary effects in movies and advances in electronics make bigger and faster what get people excited. Peafowl never fail to make me eager to conserve animals.
Lol. I don't know where in the world NZP's three peafowl are, but I've sure NEVER seen them roaming. Maybe she was referring to the peafowl then housed in the Bird House, but I can't believe there are/were ever any outside. I have to say too that mating is fascinating to behold. For years, I watched the specimens in the Bird House (closed for renovations since 2018), and this, the display bird of all display birds, not only performs a stunning visual show, but shrieks and chases the female like lightning. The screams were ear-splitting throughout the whole Bird House. A great show.
I understand the liability issues involved, and have noticed the decline in peafowl in several zoos. But in this day and age, people can find something to sue for over just about anything. The Bronx Zoo once gave out those commemorative pennies to people exiting a certain exhibit, and a couple sued the zoo after their toddler swallowed it, claiming that the zoo never told them that the pennies were not meant to be swallowed! Frankly the odds of being hurt by a roaming peafowl are probably considerably lower than the odds of being hurt walking NZP's steep and difficult terrain. Yes, there are risks in life, but some are just SO worth taking. These are zoos, after all.
