Peacock party takes pride of place in nod to decades of turbulent history

In a new twist on panda diplomacy, UN Geneva welcomed five young peacocks to the Palace of Nations on Friday, a gift of India that preserves a tradition of keeping the stately birds in the grounds, that predates both the global body and its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations.

Clearly unruffled to be the centre of attention as onlookers peered at them during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in their honour, the new arrivals strutted and pecked around their new home – a roomy aviary in leafy Ariana Park – where the global body’s European headquarters is located.

In addition to the four classic blue peafowl now settling in, a rare, white-feathered male could be seen rubbing wings with his more colourful cousins.

None has yet been named, but a competition will soon be launched to take suggestions, said UN Geneva Director-General Tatiana Valovaya.

“We are very happy to welcome five new peacocks, four blue, one white in typical United Nations colours: blue and white. And we have created a temporary house for them. They will stay here for the next three months…and then they will be allowed to move freely and enjoy the hospitality of the Ariana Park,” she said.

Avian selfies

In a sign of the times, demand was high from the many visitors to take selfies with the snow-white peacock, which like his kaleidoscope-blue-tinted friends, is the national bird of India. 

Forty-five years ago, the country’s Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, dispatched a breeding pair from Delhi Zoo to UN Geneva, using her own plane. 

“This is really a privilege for the Indian mission here to be able to donate five peacocks, ‘Pavo cristatus’, to [UN Geneva],” said Arindam Bagchi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN. 

“There is a tradition of having peacocks here. We have donated in 1981 and are delighted to be able to continue this tradition.”

After a few months’ settling-in, the soon-to-be famous five will be released from their home and allowed to roam freely around the UN Geneva enclosure. There is every hope that they will like their new perch, said Dr Tobias Blaha, Director of Geneva Bioparc zoo, which will oversee their care, alongside UN staff. 

Dr Blaha, who is also a qualified vet, drove the precious cargo to UN Geneva earlier this week in a specially modified ambulance, complete with resuscitation equipment and other medical devices, to be used in case the animals became stressed.

Perhaps wisely, sniffer dogs were not called upon to inspect the contents of five cardboard boxes clearly labelled “live animals”.

Call of the wild

“It’s really a dream habitat for them because they don't need to be kept in an aviary for a long time,” he explained. “And they have a lot of old trees, they have shade, they have different kinds of flowers and a lot of grass areas as well.”

Despite the apparent leafy paradise awaiting these stunning specimens of the natural world, local predators including foxes and martens have not been as welcoming as they might in years gone by. 

In fact, before today’s showstopping troupe arrived, just one surviving peacock wandered the grounds alone, although it has rarely been seen or heard, despite the bird's piercing scream. 

Keeping them all alive will be a challenge, Dr Blaha stressed, as young and inexperienced peacocks are “not used to living in a big, wide park, (so) they often stay on branches which are not high enough to be protected from foxes. 

“So, we need to observe things…and the higher they sleep, the less the risk is, because foxes don't climb up trees.”

Assuming that the new arrivals are unflappable in the face of the park’s hunters, the hope is that they will continue to tolerate staff and visitors at UN Geneva in the coming months and years, and that they won’t fight among themselves. 

In return, perhaps there will be an unspoken pledge not to mention our feathery friends’ tendency to loiter around entrances to buildings, window ledges and stairwells, where they unfailingly leave “presents” which can be walked into the UN’s grand surroundings.

The boys are back in town

Back at the aviary, there’s an exciting development, although it is hard to tell whether the peacocks’ ears have pricked up at the promise of some new company.

“Since they are all males growing up together – having hatched this year – they should establish their place within the group and therefore not run off in the spring, when hormones kick in and there are females on the premises,” said Laetitia Menin, Facilities Management Officer, UN Geneva.

The tradition of keeping peacocks in the grounds of the United Nations dates back to Swiss archaeologist and art collector, Gustave Revilliod, who bequeathed his estate where the UN is now located to the city in 1890.

In 1951, a local newspaper published a story headlined “Will Pierre the solitaire be replaced?”, in reference to the last surviving peacock at that time. 

Fan base

The article also traced around two dozen peacocks to Revilliod’s farm in Varembé. His menagerie included deers and bears. It is not known if there are plans to reintroduce the latter.

In 1954, during the Cold War, it is also recorded that a peacock hopped up onto a Soviet delegation car, to the delight of bored photographers. The Press dubbed it “the Geneva dove”. It remains to be seen what role these latest living symbols of international cooperation will play in today's equally unsettled world. 

This story is adapted from UN News