Zoo peacock on the lam to possibly find love is entranced by a clever Boston cop

A peacock named Snowbank escaped a Boston zoo — possibly in hopes of finding love — only to be lured back into captivity by mating sounds emanating from a clever police officer, officials say.

The peacocks at Franklin Park Zoo are free to roam the grounds, typically wandering about the open spaces. Snowbank often spends his nights roosting in a large tree near a zoo entrance. On Monday, he got out.

“This (Monday) morning, instead of flying down onto zoo grounds, he flew outside of the gate, where he began his adventure,” a zoo spokeswoman told McClatchy News.

It’s mating season for the peacocks, and zoo officials suspect Snowbank was “looking for love in search of a peahen,” which is a female peacock.

When Boston police officers patrolling near the zoo heard about the escape, they called for backup, according to a news release.

“Additional officers arrived at the scene and were met by an extremely large, slightly intimidating, and quite beautiful, male peacock,” police said.

A quick-thinking officer looked up a peacock mating call on his cell phone and started playing it for the escapee, police said. The sounds lured Snowbank into a fenced-in area, where they waited until animal control arrived.

Officer Patrick Sullivan, who lured the peacock, said he and other officers spent a “very prolonged period” of time trying to catch Snowbank, WBZ reported. When the peacock heard the sounds, the bird began following Sullivan, the news outlet reported.

“I feel guilty for deceiving him. I know the dating scene right now in Boston is a challenge with everything going on,” Sullivan told WBZ. “This peacock, like a lot of Bostonians, is going through a tough time. He just wants to get out on the streets but we are trying to encourage people to avoid doing that.”

After Snowbank was caught, the zoo worked with police and animal control to return Snowbank to his home.

“We’re happy to report he is now back at the zoo and doing well,” the zoo spokeswoman told McClatchy. “We appreciate everyone’s help in bringing him back home, and we look forward to welcoming guests back to the zoo to see these beautiful birds in person soon.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Zoo peacock on the lam to possibly find love is entranced by a clever Boston cop."