Have you ever heard a peacock’s cry? It kind of sounds like a cross between an angry cat and a hungry baby.
Now, imagine that video’s audio on an endless loop – for four years. That’s what a couple in Marseille had to listen to, only interupted by the cry the bird makes when it’s in heat. That’s even worse!
Oh and, did you know peacocks are in heat for six months of the year?
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The nightmare began back in 2008 when the city of Marseille was given the gift of both a peacock and a peahen, which were placed in the Maison Blanche park, daily La Provence reports. But one day, the female forgot to look both ways when crossing a street. (She wasn’t as lucky as this woman below…)
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That left the peacock a lonely, and apparently restless, widower, who began escaping its pen and running loose in the 9th district of France’s second biggest city. The prime victims were a couple who lived next to the park, who eventually filed suit against Marseille.
The neighbors produced medical certificates detailing insomnia, depression and regular consultations with a psychiatrist. But in January 2012, the residents were awarded a measly 100 euros for four years of auditory hell.
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Finally, last month the city’s municipal court ruled that not all necessary measures had been taken to silence the bird, and the couple was awarded 2,000 euros in damages, plus another 2,000 for legal fees.
No less important than the cash, the city eventually caught up with the troublesome peacock and sent him to live on a farm far from the center of Marseille.
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Photo: BBM Explorer via Flickr
