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EXCLUSIVE: Eagle-eyed cops rescue escaped peacock from Brooklyn zoo ducking traffic

traffic safety
Officer Anthony Donaldson of NYPD’s ESU pursues peacock on Flatbush Avenue. (Photo by Todd Maisel)

Eagle-eyed cops spotted an errant peacock from the Prospect Park Zoo, ducking through traffic on busy Flatbush Avenue early Monday morning, leading to a wild goose chase on the avenue with emergency service officers trying to get her to safety.

The peacock was strutting its stuff in front of a powder blue Mercedes Benz at 6:15 a.m. on June 29 when cops tried to bag her as motorists cried ‘fowl.’

Flatbush Avenue was already crowded with early rush-hour motorists honking to try to scare the brightly-colored avian to get its plumage out of the street.

Officer Donaldson tries to coax peacock back onto sidewalk. (Photo by Todd Maisel)

Emergency service cops rushed to the scene and found the bird had flown the coop, stubbornly standing in traffic. They tried to surround her to lure her back onto the sidewalk.

At that point, the fleet-footed fowl apparently decided it didn’t want to become a jailbird — and scampered back towards the zoo entrance, took a brief flight over the gate and back into the zoo.

An eyewitness to the scene — another peacock with a richly adorned tail — watched the scene unfold from a high perch, chuckling at the antics.

Officer Donaldson was no match for fleet footed peacock. (Photo by Todd Maisel)
The errant peacock took flight, not wanting to be a jail bird. (Photo by Todd Maisel)

It was unclear when the bird had left the zoo or whether the birds were supposed to be out at all. The Prospect Park Zoo has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Officials for the zoo could not be reached for squawk.

A male peacock, his feathers long and colorful, sits atop a zoo building watching the antics. (Photo by Todd Maisel)