It all began with an unlatched gate and a pet peacock who knew a chance for freedom when he saw it.
Three weeks on, Christchurch's sole bird rescuer has "had a bloody gutsful" of the great peacock chase and wants the public hysteria over catching it to stop.
Thebird has been spotted in backyards and trees in various suburbs. It has consistently outsmarted the woman hunting it, Bird Rescue co-ordinator Linda Cooper.
"One minute it looks settled in a backyard, but the next it has gone. All you see is its butt disappearing over the way."
But since word got out that the stray bird was a lost family pet, Ms Cooper has been besieged with abusive and prank calls.
"They think I have nothing better to do all day than hunt for a healthy peacock."
Ms Cooper runs the charitable trust Bird Rescue. She is on call all day every day, ready to rescue sick and injured birds. The work is full-time, but the pay is not.
But she is happy to report that now the charity is registered it will be able to apply for funds to make her a full-time employee and get her off the unemployment benefit.
She is also happy to reunite healthy lost birds with their owners. What she is not happy about is the peacock hysteria.
Ms Cooper says the phone calls have suddenly escalated from "calm notifications that there is a peacock in the garden to full-on demands that I get over there right now. Really rude abusive yelling".
When she tells callers she is busy with injured birds she is accused of not caring.
Since local media interest in the lost peacock began she has had up to 20 calls a day, including one at midnight.
This week the prank calls included one from an Auckland radio station.
"At least that one was a bit of a laugh. The others are just nasty."
Ms Cooper says she plans to reunite the peacock and its owner in due course but for now the bird seems healthy - and happy to elude her.
