Peacock freezes to death after escaping Chicago-area zoo

DUNDEE, Ill. – An adventurous peacock that escaped its pen at a Chicago-area petting zoo and became frozen in subzero temperatures has died.

The Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo in Dundee says the 5-year-old bird named Blue died Wednesday morning, a day after firefighters rescued the bird from a tree branch about 40 feet from the ground. The temperature outside was 12 degrees below zero.

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Brian Mangiaracina is Randall Oaks’ park and division manager. He says firefighters and zoo staff plucked Blue from a pine tree about 90 minutes after the bird fled his heated enclosure.

The zoo used warm water and a sweatshirt to restore Blue’s circulation. Mangiaracina says Blue likely died because of a buildup of fluid in his lungs from the cold.

Dundee is about 35 miles northwest of Chicago.