Runaway Highland Park Peacock Returns Home On His Own

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — This week, police officers in Highland Park may have learned a valuable lesson: Don't bother chasing a runaway peacock. Because the bird will just return home when he's ready.

That's what happened when a peacock named Chester escaped from one of the pens where he was being kept at Animal Haven at Johnson Park, a small animal sanctuary located along the Raritan River in Highland Park.

After Chester flew away, Highland Park police said they chased it unsuccessfully in the area of Cedar Lane and Treetop apartments (coincidentally, the site of a large fire two weeks ago.) You may have even seen police officers trying to catch it on Monday; they said they nicknamed the bird "Chester the Terrible." People posted video on Facebook of the peacock strutting around Treetop Apartments. Police were warning residents not to try and capture it.

But Highland Park police now said on Tuesday that Chester simply returned on his own, back to his own pen at Johnson Park.

"Unfortunately it was not due to our excellent detectives, or awesome patrol officers. Our gallivanting peafowl returned on his own because he missed his friends. A few nights on the lam apparently made him realize what he was missing," wrote police on Facebook.

At Johnson Park, visitors can see pigs, goats, a llama, deer and a mini horse, in addition to Chester the peacock. The animal sanctuary is one of three in the area run by Middlesex County.