INDIANAPOLIS — He’s Indy’s most eligible bachelor, and he’s now roaming Indy’s east side looking for love. He is Frank the peacock.
“So pretty much the only time they wander off is when the male doesn’t have a mate,” Michelle Evans said. She started a Franklin Township Facebook group that tracks the township’s famous lost peacocks.
The viral sensation started his trek from Franklin Township roughly two months ago.
Evans claims there used to be a farm with peacocks roughly 40 to 50 years ago. When it closed, she says the birds stuck around. Two years ago, another peacock went roaming from Franklin Township. Evans started the group to track that bird, known as Franklin T. Peacock. IACS says he was eventually caught. Evans said the bird is now with a rescue group.
Frank has been spotted as far as Woodruff Place, which is the closest he’s made it to downtown Indy. Caleb Walden, a member of Evan’s “Where’s the Franklin Township Peacock” Facebook group, created a map tracking his latest spottings.
“There are different people around the city that have peacocks and peafowl,” Evans said. “Peacocks have a very distinct call, and they can hear other peacocks from about five miles. That is what I’ve been told.”
It is unknown if Frank is a wild peacock, or if he is owned by someone. Given the timeline of the previous roaming and capture, Evans says it is possible that Frank is the offspring of Franklin T. Peacock.
“They reach maturity around two to three, so he could be,” Evans said.
Indianapolis Animal Control Services (IACS) has been trying to catch the bird for two months. Unfortunately, when he shows up on top of houses or cars, he can draw a crowd.
“We know everyone wants to see a peacock running around, but just leave him be,” IACS Director Katie Trennepohl said. “If our officer does come out, please give them the space to do what they need to do.”
IACS has attempted to catch the bird with a net or by cornering him. They say there is an option to use a dart to immobilize him, but animal control is trying to avoid that at all costs.
If you see the bird, please leave it alone, and call IACS or the mayor’s action line. If he can be caught, IACS will put Frank under a stray hold before likely placing him in the hands of a rescue group that specializes in birds like him. The last thing anyone wants to see is the animal injured or hit by a car.
“One of our employees who has really been after him, thinks that some fireworks have been going off in the area [of Franklin Township], and may have scared him,” Trennepohl said.
Kyla Thompson says fireworks go off all the time near her Irvington home. Frank crossed the street in front of her home and halted traffic. The bird wandered into her backyard, took a drink from her fountain, then flew up to the roof of a three story home.
“Hope it’s a good outcome,” Thompson said. “Hope he finds a date! I think that’s what he’s looking for.”
