A wild peacock is in the care of Pasadena Humane after the animal shelter says it was attacked by a mail carrier on Tuesday afternoon.
Video appears to show a U.S. Postal Service worker hitting the bird with a rock at least twice and then taking what looks like a stick and hitting it until it thrashes on Mohawk Street. Details about what led up to the alleged attack were unknown.
Pasadena Humane says the bird, which seems to be “communally owned,” was examined by a veterinarian.
“The good news is he seems to be OK at this point, so the prognosis is really good,” Kevin McManus with the animal shelter said. “He’s up and walking about, much better than he was.”
Pasadena Humane Animal Control has launched an investigation into the incident and is working to identify the mail carrier, according to McManus.
“All day today we’ve been canvassing the neighborhood, talking to neighbors, looking at video,” he said.
Neighbors near the Arboretum say they’re used to seeing peacocks in their yards and streets but that this particular peacock is a rare sight because it is all white.
“It was such a wonderful bird, and I know it was probably like following him around,” Pasadena resident Gina Davis, whose cameras captured video of the incident, told NBC Los Angeles. “But both times in the video, you see that bird wasn’t being aggressive, so why would you have to hurt him like that?”
She says the peacock is well known in the neighborhood and is harmless.
“He’s been here for several years, and the entire neighborhood knows him,” Davis said. “He wanders the streets around here, and everybody knows him and loves him, and we’re so sad to see what happened to him.”
McManus said investigators are also trying to engage the USPS. NBCLA has reached out to the agency for comment but has not yet received a response.
The animal shelter says the mail carrier could face animal cruelty charges. It’s asking anyone with information or videos to reach out.
“I doubt they’ll drop him back off in the neighborhood, but hopefully, he’ll have a nice sanctuary or maybe he can go back to the Arboretum or something,” Davis said. “We just want to know he’s going to be taken care of.”