SLOCUM TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- There are some animals on the loose in one neighborhood in Luzerne County. However, these strays are not native to our area and that’s what is causing quite a stir.
People in the Wapwallopen area said they are used to seeing a lot of wildlife, but never two fully-grown peacocks.
Len Gawelko said he had to take pictures on Tuesday when he saw them.
“My dog started barking like crazy at the front window, so I looked out and there was a peacock staring me in the face. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Gawelko said.
However, that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity happened twice. Len and his dog Beau came across the two peacocks again on their walk on Wednesday morning.
At first, Len thought it was a turkey.
“(I thought) strange noise, however, for a turkey. I looked and here it's the peacocks! One flew a few hundred yards, landed in a tree and the other one landed in the tree right above him taunting him,” Gawelko said.
Newswatch 16 went out to see the peacocks with Beau leading the way.
However, we couldn’t find them.
Len is concerned about what’s going to happen next.
“I am still worried that they won't survive long in the wild here because I do see bobcats here, a lot of fox, the occasional bear,” Gawelko said.
Len said he called the people at the state Game Commission, and they told him that peacocks are not native to this area and there are no reports of missing pet peacocks either. The game commission also said it does not pick up peacocks.
“They must've escaped from somebody that had them as pets, so we're hoping that they are retrieved and live a long life, which they won't if they're out here in the wild,” Gawelko said.
Len said he has seen the peacocks two days in a row now, but there is no way of knowing if they’re been outside longer.