Rhode Island
GoLocalProv | News | A Peacock Has Gone Missing in RI — And His Adopted Owner Hopes to Find Him
Sunday, July 02, 2023
“Paravani” lived outdoors — but would be happy to come inside when it got cold. PHOTO: Ian Kerr
Ian Kerr didn’t set out to be the “owner” of a peacock.
But two years ago, that’s just what happened, when “Paravani” wandered into his yard near the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown — and never left.
That is, until just before Memorial Day this year, when Kerr said he had to go out of town, and when he returned, “Paravani” was gone.
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“I’m very upset,” Kerr told GoLocal.
Kerr, who had taken out ads in local newspapers hoping to find him, says he has gotten some leads, but each time he goes to look, it turns out to be a wild turkey.
“I’m kind of discouraged,” said Kerr. “I was just thinking of him today. When I’d be doing dishes, he’d come up and sit on the porch and look at me, with his white eyes with black liner. This peacock picked me. He chose me and lived here.”
A Peacock Adopts His Human
Kerr, who lives in a “little glen in the woods” by Glen End Avenue and Third Beach Road, said it was his proximity to the Newport Equestrian Academy — located on the latter — that began the story.
“The woman who owns [the stables], one of her friends was moving and had a pet peacock, and brought it there,” said Kerr. “So she took it, but he didn’t like it there.”
According to Kerr, “Paravani” wandered down the road to his aunt’s house, and settled on Kerr’s to be his new home.
“Paravanni [is who] the Hindu Gods had as a pet — it’s the national bird,” said Kerr. “They’re considered sacred [and] they keep snakes away.”
Kerr became so enamored with his new-found friend, he joined a “Peafowl” society to learn more about them.
“Peacock is the male name,” Kerr explained.
Paravani. PHOTO: Kerr
While Paravani fed himself mainly through foraging, Kerr said he “liked to give him little treats.”
“I’d go to Amway for grubs and mealworm and mix with dried fruits and grains — he’d really like blueberries,” said Kerr.
And in the wintertime, Kerr said he’d have to “trick” Paravani to come warm up in his sunroom, but Paravani didn’t need much coaxing.
“My sunroom basically became a giant cage,” said Kerr, who even build him a perch. “I did have to get him out each day though for about 20 minutes to clean the hay and newspaper.”
Kerr said Paravani became practically family, warning him if cars came down the winding drive (I have a ‘Beware of Peacock’ sign, said Kerr) and following him around the yard.
“Some peacocks can be unpleasant, but he was very nice,” said Kerr, who said Paravani was known to sit on a stone wall — next to his neighbor’s cat.
So when Kerr went to Brooklyn at the end of May (where he and his wife also live) to pick up the family cats, he was heartbroken when Paravani was gone when he returned.
“There is a pack of coyotes in the area,” said Kerr. “I’ve also heard that when [peacocks] run away, they might meet up and hang out with wild turkeys.”
“He’s a big boy. To the top of his head, he’s maybe three and a half, close to four feet tall, with a five-foot train — it’s a phosphorescent blue with green wings,” said Kerr.
“So far, no one knows what happened,” said Kerr. “I hope he went to hang out with the Hindu gods.”
But if anyone sees Paravani — you can call Kerr at 917-703-4186.
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