COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - A suspected bird bandit literally ruffled some feathers in Coconut Grove when he was caught on camera trying to snatch several peacocks outside a home before making off with one of the birds.
Resident Virginia Jasper pointed out the subject’s burgundy pickup truck slowly driving by her home, Sunday morning.
“Here he comes, directly to the house,” she said.
The surveillance footage then shows the suspected thief parking in front of the house. Moments later, he is seen wearing a red T-shirt and with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, as he walked toward the driveway and in the direction of a handful of peacocks.
“He came onto my property, he went onto my porch, very disturbing,” said Jasper.
The concerned homeowner showed 7News several peacock feathers left behind in the wake of the ensuing showdown between man and fowl. “Blood and flesh on the tips,” she said.
The perpetrator then gets to work. The video shows him attempting to grab several peacocks, but the birds fluttered out of his grasp.
Moments later, in what resembled a chase out of a Road Runner cartoon, the man is seen running across the sidewalk with a peacock tucked under his arm.
He then sprinted to his truck and sped away — with an angry mob of peacocks on his tail.
“All the other peacocks, they ran behind him,” said Jasper.
7News cameras captured Jasper as she filed a complaint with City of Miami Police officers.
“We do want to investigate it,” said Miami Police Cmdr. Freddie Cruz.
The peacocks in the Grove can be a conversation piece, but not everybody is thrilled about their presence.
“There are too many. They reproduce so fast,” said a neighbor.
“They have become a nuisance,” said another area resident who then proceeded to imitate the birds’ shrill cries.
Neighbors said the peacocks also soil their front yards, roofs and cars and want them gone — but not “bird-napped.”
“It’s somebody invading. That’s not right,” said an area resident.
Police feel the same way and would like to meet this bird snatcher. “For a neighbor to say that they actually saw blood and possible animal flesh, I mean, that bird could be hurt, it could be in danger,” said Cruz. “Now we have animal cruelty.”
Neighbors do not believe the subject lives in the neighborhood and do not recognize his truck.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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