A peacock got into a Los Angeles-area liquor store on Monday and caused $500 in damage as store employees and owners tried to get the bird to leave.
The bird was actually a peahen, the female version of a peacock, and when it first entered Royal Oaks Liquors, manager Rani Ghanem didn’t even realize it was there until a customer asked about it, according to The Associated Press.
Ghanem told the AP he tried to guide the bird outside, but that it spooked and flew toward him, then up onto a high shelf in the store. Ghanem then called 911 and an animal control officer tried to remove the bird with gloves and a fishing net.
The bird dived into the bottles to avoid the officer, knocking about a dozen to the ground where they shattered.
Ghanem finally put on a sweatshirt for protection and helped the officer capture the bird. They took it outside unharmed, the AP reported.
The bird broke some of the store’s best bottles, including champagne, Ghanem told the AP.
“Yeah, he’s got expensive taste,” Ghanem joked on Tuesday, the AP reported. “I’m like, ‘You break, you buy, dude,’ But clearly he didn’t. He got away with it.”
Peacocks are common in the area but are protected birds, with fines and jail time as consequences for harming them, the AP reported.
According to Fox 11, the animal control officer told Ghanem he would release the bird at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden on Baldwin Avenue.
Twitter users saw the humor in the occurrence and enjoyed the lighthearted story.
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