Peoria officers capture rogue peacock on the loose

Rogue peacock captured in Peoria

PEORIA, Ariz. - A feathered fugitive has been captured in the West Valley.

"Which way are you going, dude?" one officer was overheard saying.

It was a rewarding moment for two Peoria Animal Control officers after finally catching a peacock that had been roaming around the city for nearly two weeks.

The bird was tracked down near 85th Avenue and Mountain View Road, and the capture proved to be trickier than expected.

"When you have a bird it tends to fly, so this peacock would fly 20 feet in the air and sit on top of people's roofs and just look at us like ‘Heh, got away,’ " said an officer. "So what's the key to catching peacocks? 2 people. And a big net."

The bird was released in a nearby park.

The most surprising thing in this case - police say that wandering peacocks in Peoria are not as rare as one would think.

An officer captured two peacocks last week, and as they spoke with FOX 10, they had another peacock call waiting.