SALT LAKE CITY—Over the past few weeks, numerous postings on social media pages and groups have shown Peacocks and Peahens in various neighborhoods in the Salt Lake Valley.
Photos of groups of peacocks in the Cottonwood Heights area have surfaced on the Nextdoor App with numerous comments citing either recent sightings or some within the past few years. Most of the posts mention the La Caille Restaurant property as where they believe the peacocks are coming from. La Caille does have peacocks on their property but couldn’t speak with Fox 13 before story publishing, regarding the animals.
A Peahen was spotted crossing a road in South Salt Lake City a few weeks ago.
“They do like to roam,” said Richard Nowak, Director at Avian Sanctuary and Protection in West Valley City. “They’ll go several blocks, a mile away from where they roost, and they’ll cross streets which can be dangerous.”
Nowak advises people to help guide these animals across the street for their safety but cautions getting too close, especially if they’re feral.
“They can be aggressive especially during nesting season,” said Nowak. “They don’t purposely attack people unless they’re protecting their territory.”
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources told Fox 13 they do not handle Peafowl calls due to them being classified as exotic animals.
Salt Lake County Animal Services told Fox 13 they do not handle Peafowl calls since they are considered wildlife.
Therein lies the ‘grey area’ for Peacocks and Peahens roaming neighborhoods. Neither DWR or County Animal Services can identify which agency would be able to respond to a call for service unless it was an emergency call.
Nowak suggests only calling for assistance if you a see a Peacock or Peahen that may look malnourished. As mentioned by DWR and SLC Animal Services, there’s no known official solution of these exotic animals are damaging your property unless you know who owns the animals.
Avian Sanctuary & Protection is a 501C3 non-profit in West Valley City. If you’d like to learn more about the services they provide and what you can do to help: https://www.asaputah.org/
