An Indian peacock nicknamed Pasha ran away from the Moscow Zoo two weeks ago and is refusing to return despite the snow and freezing temperatures, a zoo official said Friday.
"He turned out to be a traveler and is visiting the entire downtown neighborhood surrounding the zoo," zoo spokeswoman Raisa Korolyova said.
The peacock, who was named Pasha by the residents of the neighborhood, ran away Nov. 5 when the zoo's birds were being transferred into winter cages. The other peacocks obediently entered their cages, but Pasha refused.
"We tried everything we could. We offered him the best seeds we have, but we failed to convince him to enter the new cage," Korolyova said. "The bird seems to love freedom."
Pasha stayed a couple of days on the zoo grounds and then decided to visit the neighborhood.
"We don't cut their wings, so it was not difficult for him to take flight," Korolyova said.
It is unclear why Pasha took off after never showing any sign of being unhappy with his life at the zoo, she said. Pasha lived with 17 other peacocks and had pelicans and cormorants as neighbors. The birds shared a pond and never had even a small quarrel, Korolyova said.
It is also unusual that Pasha made a run for it during the winter months. According to Korolyova, peacocks are more likely to run away onto the zoo grounds in the spring, when the weather gets warm, but they usually return to their pens in a few days.
"This is the first time a peacock has run away in winter and is showing no desire to come back," she said.
Peacocks live in subtropical or tropical climates but are able to survive temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Pasha was last seen close to the central Vagankovsky Cemetery late last week. The week before that he was spotted at an apartment building in the same neighborhood.
"The evening of Nov. 11 the peacock flew to the eighth floor," resident Vasily Grishin told Izvestia. "People opened the windows and put breadcrumbs on the windowsills. They hoped he would enter their apartments, but Pasha refused. He ate the crumbs, looked into the apartments and ran away."
Peacocks can fly very high, and they love to sleep in trees, the zoo said.
Grishin said Pasha was twice seen eating breadcrumbs with flocks of crows. "[A crow] tried to steal the best? clumps from under his nose. Who likes that? Pashka pecked them," he said.
The zoo is hoping Pasha will return on his own. "Peacocks fly high and are very fast. It is quite impossible to catch them," Korolyova said.
She said that in her five years at the zoo, Pasha is the only animal that has managed to escape the zoo grounds.
"He turned out to be a traveler and is visiting the entire downtown neighborhood surrounding the zoo," zoo spokeswoman Raisa Korolyova said.
The peacock, who was named Pasha by the residents of the neighborhood, ran away Nov. 5 when the zoo's birds were being transferred into winter cages. The other peacocks obediently entered their cages, but Pasha refused.
"We tried everything we could. We offered him the best seeds we have, but we failed to convince him to enter the new cage," Korolyova said. "The bird seems to love freedom."
Pasha stayed a couple of days on the zoo grounds and then decided to visit the neighborhood.
"We don't cut their wings, so it was not difficult for him to take flight," Korolyova said.
It is unclear why Pasha took off after never showing any sign of being unhappy with his life at the zoo, she said. Pasha lived with 17 other peacocks and had pelicans and cormorants as neighbors. The birds shared a pond and never had even a small quarrel, Korolyova said.
It is also unusual that Pasha made a run for it during the winter months. According to Korolyova, peacocks are more likely to run away onto the zoo grounds in the spring, when the weather gets warm, but they usually return to their pens in a few days.
"This is the first time a peacock has run away in winter and is showing no desire to come back," she said.
Peacocks live in subtropical or tropical climates but are able to survive temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Pasha was last seen close to the central Vagankovsky Cemetery late last week. The week before that he was spotted at an apartment building in the same neighborhood.
"The evening of Nov. 11 the peacock flew to the eighth floor," resident Vasily Grishin told Izvestia. "People opened the windows and put breadcrumbs on the windowsills. They hoped he would enter their apartments, but Pasha refused. He ate the crumbs, looked into the apartments and ran away."
Peacocks can fly very high, and they love to sleep in trees, the zoo said.
Grishin said Pasha was twice seen eating breadcrumbs with flocks of crows. "[A crow] tried to steal the best? clumps from under his nose. Who likes that? Pashka pecked them," he said.
The zoo is hoping Pasha will return on his own. "Peacocks fly high and are very fast. It is quite impossible to catch them," Korolyova said.
She said that in her five years at the zoo, Pasha is the only animal that has managed to escape the zoo grounds.