A peacock which escaped from a zoo in Boston was lured back by a police officer who played a mating call on his phone.
Snowbank, a peacock who had fled Franklin Park Zoo, part of Zoo New England, was spotted by a concerned passer-by on Monday in the Roxbury section of Boston.
The zoo has been closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Additional officers arrived at the scene and were met by an extremely large, slightly intimidating, and quite beautiful, male peacock,” the Boston Police Department said.
"An officer on scene relied on his quick wit to track down a peacock mating call on his cell phone, successfully luring the bird into a fenced-in yard where he waited patiently for the arrival of Boston Animal Control. “
Zoo officials said Snowbank, six, is now back home and healthy.
“The peacocks at Franklin Park Zoo are free-roaming,” Zoo New England told the New York Times.
“And while they typically wander throughout the zoo, it is currently mating season, and it’s possible he ventured out looking for love in search of a peahen (female peacock).”
The police said that a concerned passer-by had told officers about the wandering peacock about 6am on Monday morning.
YouTube has a selection of peacocks' mating calls, some of which have had hundreds of thousands of views.
Dennis Fett, co-founder of the Peacock Information Centre in Minden, told the New York Times he often tells people who have lost a peacock to use one of his recordings to bring the peacock back.
Mr Fett said the police officer was "very wise" to use the peacock's unmistakeable mating noise.
“He makes a screeching sound — kind of like a ‘whee’ sound,” Mr Fett said.
Zoo officials said that Snowbank has lived at Franklin Park Zoo since 2013.
They added: “We appreciate everyone’s help in bringing him back home and we look forward to welcoming guests back to the zoo to see these beautiful birds in person soon.”
