The Greater Vancouver Zoo has become home to a jolly peacock named Harald, originally from Surrey.
Zoo animal care manager Menita Prasad announced last week that Harald was recently released from a 30-day quarantine process typical for new zoo intakes.
Harald, three, is now free to roam the 120-acre property in Aldergrove, greet human guests, and ruffle about with six other peacocks at the facility. The zoo’s peacocks are habituated to humans and can usually be found near the entrance, Prasad said.
It’s been almost one year since Surrey embarked on a trapping program for peacocks on the loose after a previous homeowner left them behind in 2006.
While the city has caught more than a dozen peafowl during the past year, resident Holly Gill told Black Press Media the issues they bring remain.
“When it’s sunny, mostly the morning sun is on our house, and there’s still a lot of them on our roof,” Gill said, and during mating season their noises are especially loud.
“It’s around 3 o’clock in the morning,” Gill explained. “It’s a very sharp noise.”
Surrey’s bylaw manager Kim Marosevich said the city conducted an official count in 2018, after a rehoming plan was adopted. Birds in the area were numbered at 45.
Since then, Marosevich said 17 birds have been trapped, then rehabilitated at the Surrey Animal Resource Centre (SARC) and adopted out.
“All required veterinarian care, mostly for parasite control,” said Marosevich.
Aside from Harald, others have gone to hobby farms across the province.
- with files from Amy Reid