A boy picnicking with a Montessori preschool class at the Denver Zoo on Wednesday was scratched on the nose by a free-ranging peacock.
Zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart said the boy was taken by ambulance to a hospital to be checked out “because there was quite a bit of blood.”
The boy’s father told 9News his son received six stitches across his nose and four stitches across his forehead. He says the doctors told him his son will need to stay out of long-term exposure to the sun for a few years to avoid scaring.
Barnhart said the peacock — about the size of a goose — was captured by the bird collection’s curator and is being kept in a holding area to make sure there is nothing wrong with it.
She said the zoo receives occasional reports of patrons being nipped by birds, but typically geese are the offenders and almost always, those incidents are the result of humans feeding the birds.
Barnhart said there are signs posted throughout the zoo reminding visitors not to feed any birds or animals.
“We want our visitors to respect all the animals,” she said. “Don’t feed them. Not even the ground squirrels.”
Witnesses from the boy’s daycare told his parents he was not provoking the peacock, 9News reported.
