It looked good on photos, or made people look better with it on “selfies.” But over-eager or plain insensitive folks in India manhandled a peacock so roughly while taking selfies with it that it died.
The peacock was so striking when it first arrived into the city of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, India and instantly sparked huge excitement among the locals, creating a frenzy and a bee-line for people to have a “selfie” with the bird.
Local media reported that some residents spread the poor bird’s plumage apart and yanked at its legs in their desire for the peacock to fan out its tail feathers, so it will look better in photos.
The police said the bird dies on the way to the police station where its body was handed over to Binnaguri wildlife workers.
The peacock is the national bird in India.
Jalpaiguri wildlife warden Seema Chowdhury confirmed to the media that they are investigating to establish what happened. He added: “What the villagers did was not right. We are also trying to find out how the bird fell ill.”
Both police and forest department officials are involved in the probe of the peacock’s untimely death.
The peacock’s death is just the latest in what is turning out to be a worrying trend in the country of people getting too close to wildlife and mishandling them just for the sake of a selfie, often leading to disastrous results for both animals and humans.
Just a month ago, a bear was beaten to death by an angry mob in India when it acted angered. What started the trouble, however, was the man’s attempt to have a selfie with the “unwilling” bear.
An elephant also attacked and killed a tourist in November last year when he tried to have a picture with it by a roadside in Jalpaiguri.
Source:
Twitter: #MAGA #KeepAmericaGreat! #India #PeacockDiedForSelfies #Selfie #AnimalCruelty #DontKillforSelfie #NotWorthIt
