23 September 2013 Winning the heart of a bachelor bird

No one knows how he got there or exactly when, but life for Lincoln University’s long-standing resident peacock is about to get a whole lot more complicated with the introduction of a peahen into his bachelor pad.

The famous bird, known as Petey, is thought to have arrived on the scene in the mid-1990s and quickly made a home for himself in the parklike grounds of the amenity area next to the Lincoln University vineyard. The area is used by horticulture and landscape architecture students as part of their studies in identifying different species of plants.

The reclusive fowl has been so elusive over the years that he has taken on an almost Loch Ness monster mystique, with some believing him to be a campus myth as others speak of seeing but a glimpse of him now and then.

However, while elusive, he does very much exist, and it was the manager of the Lincoln University vineyard, Bernard Newman, who decided to try to bring him out of his shell by introducing a peahen to his life of solitude.

“I would often hear him making this terrible noise while I was working in the vineyard, so I figured he was maybe lonely and could do with some company to get him to quieten down a bit. However, someone has since told me that peacocks can make even more noise once a female is introduced onto the scene. You can infer from that what you will, but the plan may have backfired on me,” says Bernard.

The peahen, who is yet to be named, spent a week getting acclimatised to her new surroundings in a sheltered pen, but, as of last Thursday night, the gate was left open with the ‘game of love’ taken to the next level.

The goal is to see if the enigmatic Petey can be led into temptation sufficient to muster up the wherewithal to do his part in bringing about some peachicks. The matter is far from a foregone conclusion, however, as it’s thought he may be approaching 20 years of age, while the game-changing temptress is just one year old.

Peacocks can live to 20 years in the wild or even 50 years in captivity, so it’s hoped Petey’s lifestyle and surroundings have been conducive for both longevity and virility. Some Lincoln University staff have suggested, however, that an overly hermitic lifestyle may mean he is now a little too stuck in ways to want to compromise his bachelor living.

Even less encouraging is the fact that Petey showed absolutely no interest in the new arrival while she was in her pen.

Although some attempts have been made to capture Petey, he remains as slippery as ever. Not only can he move incredibly quickly, but he has very much shunned the limelight. As such, photographs are rare. One Lincoln University student did post on the University Facebook page, however, that she once found Petey tapping on the window of her flat after a particularly stressful night of aftershocks.