Increase in peacock sightings has Manatee residents seeing every color

Terra Ceia resident Eric Lofgren saw something odd outside his front door Saturday afternoon.

It was, without a doubt, a peacock.

Lofgren had the same reaction any decent, animal respecting, Manatee County citizen would when it comes to the colorful peacock — that this animal is supposed to be in an enclosure for its own safety.

“I called the cops and animal welfare,” Lofgren said. “No one knew anything.”

Lofgren didn’t realize it but he was about to become a part of Manatee County’s escalating peacock program.

It seems that someone may have dumped an unknown number of peacocks, which is illegal since they are an exotic species and not native, said Gail Straight at Wildlife Inc. Education & Rehabilitation on Anna Maria Island, the non-profit that Lofgren called for help.

Straight told Lofgren that she couldn’t help because the peacocks were uninjured and peacocks aren’t technically wildlife, being an exotic non-native species. So, she wasn’t exactly the right person to call. But because she is an animal advocate, Straight was getting repeated calls about peacocks and felt she had to do something.

“She told me that she was suddenly hearing from all over about a number of peacocks showing up all over the place,” Lofgren said.

On Sunday, Straight explained her theory on what’s going on with the rise of peacock sightings in Manatee County.

For the last month, she has been receiving one or two calls a day about peacocks on lawns in the Bradenton and Palmetto area.

She has tried to nail down what is happening, but doesn’t yet have the facts, she said.

Straight speculates that someone is raising peacocks for sale, the flock grew too large and some either escaped or were set loose.

Realizing they could be responsible, Straight thinks the peacock owners hired people to trap them and move them somewhere else.

“I suspect, but I can’t prove, it all started after someone started trapping the escaped birds,” Straight said Sunday.

“She thinks the trappers caught a bunch of peacocks, and then, instead of doing the work to find someplace that wanted them, decided to dump them, a few here, a few there, all over the area,” Lofgren said.

“If these peacocks have been dumped, that is totally illegal,” Straight said.

Straight believes the solution is to find someone who wants the birds and is willing to pay to have a legitimate trapper catch them and bring them to a secure location.

“I don’t have any place to take them,” Straight said. “We really need to figure out what is happening here and who really wants to care for these birds.”

Straight said if homeowners see a peacock on their lawn and haven’t sprayed, it is safe for the peacocks to eat bugs, grains and seeds there. As for predators, healthy peacocks can fly, she said.

But in the interest of their continued safety, Straight said anyone who wants the peacocks can call her at 941-778-6324, and she will try to facilitate the process.

This story was originally published February 26, 2017 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Increase in peacock sightings has Manatee residents seeing every color."