A lawsuit has been filed by a family claiming that a free-roaming peacock attacked a toddler last April at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, KTLA sister station KTVX reports.
The lawsuit, filed March 7, alleges the peacock also attacked three other children over a two-day period.
The family of a 2-year-old filed the lawsuit for the incident they say happened April 30, 2021.
The mother says she pulled the child out of her stroller to walk with her siblings when the peacock flew in front of her and scratched the toddler’s face. The child fell to the ground, the lawsuit states.
The family says staff at the zoo told them the peacock attacked another kid later that day, and two more the day before. One of the four children required medical care.
Since the zoo didn’t “subdue or sequester the dangerous bird,” it is liable for the reported attacks, the family says.
Due to the claims, peafowl is no longer free-roaming in Hogle Zoo.
KTVX has reached out to Hogle Zoo for a statement.