Rowdy peacock causes $500 worth of damage at California liquor store


A peahen with an appetite for destruction walked into a Southern California liquor store and destroyed several bottles of expensive wine and champagne in a matter of minutes.
The peahen seemed to know where the good stuff was at Royal Oaks Liquors, since she broke several pricey bottles of alcohol worth a total of $500. Employees and customers tried to help her get back outside, but she flew around and landed where she couldn't be reached. Finally, a Los Angeles County animal control officer was able to use a net to get her safely out, and he told the store manager she would be released to the nearby Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden, ABC 7 reports.
Hundreds of peacocks and peahens roam the streets of Arcadia, their ancestors brought to the city by its founder, Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, after he picked them up during a trip to India in the 1880s. They killed snakes on his property and served as an alarm when people and animals came too close to his house. After Baldwin's death, his family sold off parcels of his ranch, the Los Angeles Times says, and several acres became the arboretum. While many peacocks live full-time at the arboretum, it's not unusual to see others strolling down the road, sitting on a front lawn, or, apparently, going on a rampage inside a liquor store. Catherine Garcia
The Week
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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