Horde of amorous peacocks ruffles feathers in Italian seaside town

Wild peacocks roam in a street of Punta Marina, in the municipality of Ravenna, northeastern Italy. (Francesco Gilioli/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

More than 100 peacocks are wreaking havoc in the Italian seaside town of Punta Marina on the Adriatic coast, leading to local divisions over what to do about the swelling colony.

By some estimates, nearly 150 peacocks are roaming free, causing a ruckus and showing aggressive behaviour against humans, cars and urban gardens.

The onset of mating season this spring has escalated tensions, with the males’ loud early morning mating calls particularly aggravating residents.

“They destroy cars by attacking their own reflections, they poop sticky guano all over the sidewalks, making it dangerous to walk, and they block traffic,” Rosanna Golfarelli, who runs the local Cacao pastry shop with her husband Claudio Ianiero, told CNN.

Nesting in the courtyard near their store are six peacocks, one of whom they have affectionately named Pirilampo, designing a special cookie inspired by its fanned feathers.

“Peacocks are beautiful, but there are too many of them now; they make a mess and peck at everything they find,” said Ianiero, who nevertheless finds the growing feud over the birds’ presence amusing. He admitted that because he and his wife don’t live near the bakery, they aren’t bothered by the noise that keeps people up at night.

Golfarelli and Ianiero are on the fence about what to do about the feathered fiends. About half of the small town – which has a population of around 3000 – would like them culled or carted off to a local zoo. The other half want the colorful creatures protected and even exploited to boost tourism in the area.

After all, the birds have been caught on video by Italian influencers and singers filming in Punta Marina. Amazon Music and Spotify also both feature “relaxing” playlists inspired by the birds’ calls in the town.

Began with one lonesome bird

Peacocks have been part of the demographic of the wider municipality of Ravenna for years.

According to local legend, it all started when a peacock escaped an enclosed cage and took up residence in the pine forest on the edge of Punta Marina. Every spring, he screeched in search of a mate before someone finally introduced a hen.

Once the colony grew, the birds roosted in a derelict military barracks nearby, later returning to the pine forest when the facility was renovated. They then began moving to parks and abandoned houses in Punta Marina to seek safety from natural predators like foxes and wolves, whose numbers increased due to the peacocks’ presence.

Once in town, people started feeding them, especially in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdowns. This has made the birds dependent on humans – and, with no natural predators in the urban area, the peacock population has exploded.

Ravenna’s council has been asking for ideas to manage the peacock population since 2022, when the birds were much fewer in number. But after a zoo offered to take 20 peacocks, the move was met with outcry from animal rights groups.

In 2023, there were just 30 known birds. “That number is now outdated. Now we have people talking about 100-120 animals. We need to do a methodical count,” Francesca Impellizzeri, councilor of animal rights for Ravenna, told CNN affiliate Sky TG24.

“We’re currently working on a census, which will begin in a few months, to determine how many males and females there are in the area. Then, once we have an idea of ​​the numbers, we’ll try to figure out, together with the community and animal rights organizations, what actions to take,” she added.

The CLAMA Association signed an agreement with the municipality two years ago to help manage the colony. The animal welfare non-profit has posted informational signs around Punta Marina warning people not to feed the birds.

The Italian town is not the first area to struggle with troublesome peacocks or other birds.

While peacocks have roamed the streets of Los Angeles County for more than a century, officials in 2021 moved to ban people from feeding them after reports of the birds shrieking in the night and damaging property.

In Florida, the village of Pinecrest has turned to vasectomies to curb peacocks’ reproduction in recent years.

In 2020, a town in the state of Western Australia became home to an influx of emus, which can stand up to 6.2 feet tall.

By Barbie Latza Nadeau and Amarachi Orie, CNN