One of the free-roaming peacocks at the Chattanooga Zoo left the property for a time but has been found, officials said.
“He was across the street from the zoo in the backyard of a nearby residence,” the zoo said on social media. “Thank you to everyone for keeping an eye out and offering support during this unusual occurrence. Looks like if you want to see a peacock, you’ll have to come inside the zoo.
The peacock escaped Thursday night, when two of the animals were seen in the parking lot by employees. One was retrieved and put back in the zoo, but the other was still off zoo grounds as of Friday.
Zoo spokesperson Jake Cash said this is an extremely rare circumstance. The peacocks have been free roaming for nearly 40 years, and this kind of problem has never arisen, he said.
“They don’t have a specific enclosure,” Cash said. “They have always stayed on zoo grounds because the peacocks are fed here and they are safe here.”