Missing peacock returned to owner

A pet peacock that went missing in Malé has been returned to its owners by the police after three days of reported sightings by Maldivian social media users. 

Photos of the female peacock on rooftops across the city began circulating after its owner posted a Facebook message Wednesday morning, appealing for help to locate the missing pet.

The sightings elicited much bemusement in the online community. The peahen flew from roof to roof before the police stepped in.

On Friday, a viral photo of a policeman holding the peahen spawned the hashtag #FreeThePeacock amid concern over the exotic bird.

“Did they take it to Dhoonidhoo [detention island]? Kinda appropriate name for a bird sanctuary eh?” one Twitter user observed.

Dhoonidhoo, a small island near the capital that houses the police custodial facility, loosely translates as bird island.

“Hey @PoliceMv was it bc the peacock was high on roofies?” asked another user.

Police later told Avas that the bird has been handed over to the owners since it was legal in the Maldives.

Several exotic animals were discovered during a police crackdown on illegal pets in 2014, including a slow loris, a royal python, a Kingsnake, a Mexican red-kneed tarantula, a sugar glider (possum), an owl, and several iguanas.

Thats a fucking peacock on the roof pic.twitter.com/RZugyOTK9T

— liakeem (@Meekailhoshigak) May 11, 2018

Lmao just saw this on Instagram the peacock has been arrested pic.twitter.com/8HCF2lJbhy

— Izana (@izznzz) May 12, 2018

Bet @policemv must have the peacock in an interrogation room and asking it to provide evidence of all the crimes it committed. #FreeThePeacock

— Azzam Pompi Mohamed (@Pompeee) May 12, 2018

Peacock found and rescued 💪🏻💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/Wzlx9iIQ1d

— Shamaail Mohamed (@ShamaailMohamed) May 12, 2018