A mailman in Pasadena was caught on camera attacking a beloved neighborhood white peacock with a rock and stick, leaving the bird unable to stand and sparking outrage from locals who have demanded accountability.
The confrontation unfolded in a Pasadena neighborhood where the white peacock had become a familiar fixture. Video of the incident appears to show the mailman, who has not been publicly identified, repeatedly going after the bird rather than simply trying to scare it away. He then appears to chase it down and repeatedly swing a stick at it, including a blow to the head, as the peacock tried to escape. By the end of the footage, the bird is seen flopping helplessly on the ground.
A neighborhood Facebook post described the aftermath in stark terms. “Some sad and angry news about our neighborhood white Peacock. Today our mailman threw a rock and hit him with a stick, causing injuries to where he couldn’t get up,” the post read. The Humane Society was called, took the bird for an evaluation and opened an investigation, according to the same post. “Hopefully our little buddy will be OK and will live a good life.”
Neighbors were quick to defend the peacock’s temperament and condemn the mailman’s actions. “Not okay my kids love seeing white peacock, he’s not vicious. I’m sure he was trying to protect himself. We were never around him and never try to attack us. I noticed in the first video he attacked the peacock first,” one resident wrote in response to the Facebook post.
Another resident emphasized how deeply the community had grown attached to the unusual neighborhood celebrity. “It’s so heartbreaking – the peacock is a beloved, magical creature who all the neighbors love. We hope he recovers – poor thing. So sad to see him flopping around like that,” the resident wrote.
The controversy has erupted in a community where peacocks are practically part of the scenery. The birds roam freely through Pasadena and surrounding neighborhoods, wander into yards, block traffic and have become a fixture of daily suburban life. They are particularly common in eastern Pasadena and nearby Altadena, Arcadia and San Marino.
Their unlikely Southern California dynasty began in 1879, when wealthy businessman Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin imported several pairs of Indian peafowl to his sprawling Rancho Santa Anita estate. When the estate was eventually dismantled, the birds were left behind. They multiplied over the ensuing century and spread into neighboring communities in search of food and shelter.
Wild peacocks cannot legally be fed, injured or trapped in Pasadena and Los Angeles County, with violations potentially bringing heavy fines. The birds’ protected status has only intensified locals’ anger at the mailman’s alleged conduct.
If the allegations are substantiated, the incident could carry federal weight. President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law on Nov. 25, 2019, making certain intentional acts of animal cruelty a federal offense. The law covers conduct involving serious bodily injury to animals, subject to federal jurisdictional requirements.
In the viral moment that set off the neighborhood firestorm, the video captured the mailman’s escalating aggression toward a bird that residents describe as harmless and even magical. The footage shows him pursuing the peacock with apparent determination, not merely waving it off his route but closing the distance to land repeated blows. The peacock’s attempts to flee only seemed to prolong the encounter, with the bird finally collapsing in the street. The visceral image of the white peacock flopping on the ground, unable to right itself, became the rallying point for neighbors who had long cherished their feathered visitor.
The Humane Society investigation remains underway as residents wait to see whether their injured white peacock recovers.