Jealous peacock attacks blue cars - after
mistaking them for love rivals
Last updated at 21:34 04 October 2007
Like any male defending his patch, Ron does his best to banish
potential love rivals. Unfortunately, this fellow's a little confused
about who his competitors are. Ron, a peacock , has begun
attacking any bright blue cars which drive into his territory at a
stately home. In his latest assault, on a blue Lexus, he scratched
and dented every panel - causing £4,000 worth of damage.
His next victim? Ron the peacock eyes up a bright blue car at his
home, Maunsel House in North Newton, Somerset Ron's owner,
Sir Benjamin Slade, said: "He doesn't seem to be bothered by
other birds, but the peacock-blue cars just drive him wild.
"He suddenly becomes aggressive and can't control himself."
Ron lives with 12 other peacocks on the baronet's 13th century Maunsel House estate in North
Newton, Somerset. The owner of the Lexus used to work at the estate but has now left. Luckily,
her insurance company agreed to pay for the damage.Sir Benjamin said: "Ron literally pecked
and scratched the Lexus all over. Fortunately, the owner wasn't in it at the time."Ornithologist
Quenton Spratt, at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said it was likely the peacock
saw blue cars as a threat. He said: "I've come across this in the past. I suspect the peacock
thinks the car is a bird.
Larger than life aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade has warned
visitors not to drive blue cars when coming to the estate
"They are very territorial and will try to fight the car off by
pecking it, as they would with another bird.
"Blue cars probably compound it, as they associate bright
colours with a male."
He added: "Peacocks have very sharp spurs and can do
some real damage."
Sir Benjamin, however, has another theory. He believes
that Ron is gay and wants to mate with the bright cars.
Now the eccentric millionaire has posted warning signs all over the estate's 100-acre parkland.
Sir Benjamin bought Maunsel House in the 1980s when it was a dilapidated county pile.
He famously spent 18 months testing the DNA of Slades around the world to find a relative to
inherit his £7.5million home.
Of the 15,000 applicants, the most likely to inherit is Isaac Slade, 24-year-old lead singer of
American band The Fray.
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