Peacocks die in China zoo after visitors grabbed them for selfies

Two peacocks died at a zoo in southwest China after visitors who were trying to take photos picked up the birds and roughly handled them.

According to reports, visitors to the Yunnan Wild Animal Park grabbed the birds for selfies, and violently plucked out their feathers.

Images of the visitors holding the birds emerged on Weibo, after another visitor posted them online.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The incident happened on Feb. 12, the zoo confirmed on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Zoo, Mr. Bai, told the Huaxi Metropolis Daily that something like this has never happened at the zoo before, but workers had expressly told visitors not to touch the peacocks.

While peacocks are not likely to approach people, the visitors had managed to capture the birds by luring them with food and grabbing them by their long tails, he said.

Zookeepers rushed to stop the visitors when they saw them hugging the peacocks, but one of the birds, a gorgeous 5-year-old male, died of fright within half an hour of being grabbed.

The zoo hasn't said if it will press charges against the visitors who manhandled the birds.

Dr. Li, a veterinarian with the Kunming East Hospital, told City Times that peacocks can indeed be frightened to death, and that they can suffer heart attacks if exposed to large shocks. Other timid animals like rabbits are also similarly fragile, Li said.

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