Peacock That Escaped From Philly Zoo Found Dead On I-76

PHILADELPHIA – What started off as a rather silly incident Wednesday night has turned into a sorrowful situation Thursday afternoon, as one of the peacocks that wandered out of the Philadelphia Zoo was found dead.

Zoo officials said one of the errant peacocks was found dead Thursday, likely from being hit by a vehicle.

The deceased peacock was found on Interstate 76 between Girard Avenue and Montgomery Drive exits.

The three remaining peacocks are still on the loose and crews are attempting to locate them, officials said.

Zoo officials are asking the public to refrain from approaching the birds and instead report peacocks@phillyzoo.org.

The public is encouraged to take photos of the birds if they are spotted and send those photos to the email, as well as the day, time, specific location where the birds were seen.

Patch will provide further details when more information is made available.

Original story

Drivers on Interstate 76 in Philadelphia are usually angry at other drivers, but Wednesday night it was fowl that made traffic foul.

Four peacocks escaped the Philadelphia Zoo at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and made their way to Interstate 76 west, just outside the zoo, and created a traffic nightmare.

According to NBC10, state police shut down two lanes of I-76 west to corral the birds, which a free roaming in the zoo and have left zoo grounds in the past only to return home.

However, police were unable to retrieve the birds and reopened the highway as they had left the road.

Action News reports the traffic closure caused a miles-long back up on the highway and that zoo and police will work to find the birds Thursday.

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