Bye-bye peacocks?

Peacocks are my favorite bird and it's a shame that the species is becoming less and less common in American zoos.

As a person that goes to the National zoo a lot the thing about this article that shocked me the most was the fact that the zoo actually has peacocks.
 
Something I feel is definitely decreasing in US zoos is free roaming peacocks. Visitors treat them badly so they are put on exhibit only or off exhibit completely.
 
In the humidity of the Southeast US I know guineafowl do better. At least with my personal experience Peafowl tend to have all kinds of problems that guineas don't around the farm. And they really go in good with the Zoos that are going full bore on African exhibits.
 
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I actually find it pretty annoying (the peacocks) when I am at the Bronx and I am trying to photograph the nyalas but the peacocks always manage to get in the picture. Other than that, actually I think peacocks are very nice and a good edition to any zoo especially if it's geared towards younger children.
 
I noticed when I was at the Phoenix Zoo yesterday there weren't any pea fowl around, but I only went to the Tiger exhibit and not the places the pea fowl usually hang out. Hopefully they don't remove them. I think parents should educate their children about how to act around them, though, so the little monsters don't chase the birds.

And while I don't oppose zoos sending them to farms or bird sanctuaries, reading that some zoos have culled their flocks is most distressing.
 
I know there was a accident a bit ago where a kid reached down to pick something up and a peacock came and started pecking at his feet and cut him, since apparently the peacock thought he was doing a mating dance or something like that. And so some zoos stopped showing peacocks out and about because they don't wanna get sued.
 
Brookfield and Milwaukee over here still have peafowls that free roam, although I have gone visits without seeing them, only for them to reappear.
 
Interesting read...
I noticed them slowly disappearing but didn't think much of it. They only seem to be disappearing from AZA zoos. Roadside zoos have them all over the place, and if anything, the number of peafowl is increasing at these facilities. They are certainly crowd pleasers, with their fantastic displays.
 
I find them annoying, because (as Savetheelephant said) I hate photographing an animal from another continent and having an Indian peafowl in the way. It just ruins the theme. I would not mind having them in their own Indian exhibit or in a large aviary, but roaming the grounds is not something I enjoy.

I do not ever remember seeing them in Phoenix, but if Azcheetah2 says they were there they must have been. I do not think they were ever numerous. In my state of Arizona, the two zoos that have always had them still have them free roaming in large numbers. Those are Reid Park Zoo (Tucson) and Wildlife World Zoo (Litchfield Park). Reid Park also has an oversized statue of a peacock that children can sit on outside their front entrance. Since this is a major feature of the semi-new entrance I doubt they will get rid of their peafowl.
 
I've never felt they were a fantastic idea, if primarily because it feels like putting free-roaming animals in a zoo is almost an invitation for guests to encounter them, which will inevitably lead to problems.
 
At the Cincinnati Zoo we are currently in the process of disposing of our peafowl. We have four still roaming the park, but we have three (3.0) in holding waiting to be shipped out to other facilities. The other four (4.0) will be caught up eventually, as well. Our birds have become increasingly aggressive over the last few years due to increased aggravation by the public. We are looking at acquiring a brand new batch, with both males and females, with the implementation of a new, more proactive and visual campaign to prevent visitor harassment.
 
DavidBrown said:
Are peacocks disappearing from American zoos? And if this is a trend, then why are zoos removing them?

This article explores the question (and doesn't really find a good answer, but does raise some interesting points).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...id=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national:homepage/card
Click to expand...

I know that in 2012 Omaha bad plenty of peafowl and Detroit and Salt Lake City did in 2014. Personally I'm a huge fan of peafowl and would hate to see them removed. I would like to see other birds like turkeys, guinea fowl, and jungle fowl roaming free.
 
Here is how the Calgary Zoo is approaching the issue of free roaming birds
 

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