Interview with George
As some of you know I live in Lam Circle and George the Peacock is often seen near the playground in front of my house. One night after the neighbourhood children had all gone in for the evening, I saw him outside, so I decided to pop out and say hi. I was quite surprised when he said hi back, so I decided to ask him if we could sit down for an interview sometime. He thought that would be lovely. I recorded it to share with you all.
Hannah: Hi George, I’m so glad we got this chance to talk!
George: I am too! There have been a lot of odd things written about me lately. Someone dropped a newspaper with a picture of me on the cover. I read it, and I feel it didn’t really represent me properly.
H: Yes, I saw that. What would you like to tell people?
G: Well first of all, I want to make sure that everyone knows about my amazing feathers. I do like to show them off, because they’re beautiful, but lately I have often been showing them to indicate that I’m feeling threatened (Beauty of Birds, 2022).
H: That’s good to know. I’ve seen you around Lam Circle a fair bit, and I often see you fanning your feathers. Are you okay?
G: Some of those children are not very kind to me. One of them was even trying to touch my feathers! I did not like that at all. I didn’t attack him, but I seriously considered it. I am very uncomfortable with people touching me. Especially the beautiful feathers on my train. However, the thing that makes me most uncomfortable is when there are other peacocks in my space. I have my territory and that’s where I like to be. I don’t like it when other peacocks are in my territory (Knox, 2021).
H: Oh really? Have you had any issues with that on campus?
G: Well. One time I was near a building on campus and I saw a peacock inside! I immediately fanned my feathers and went over to investigate because people never let me go inside. Why should I be treated differently than this other peacock? As I got closer, I could see that he was approaching me as well. Suddenly the wall moved and he was gone! I went in to follow him, but I didn’t see him anywhere. There was a sound behind me so I spun around and there he was! Outside! How did he get past me? I went closer, and again he approached me. The wall moved and he disappeared again! So I went back out in search of him. Again, I heard the same sound behind me, and when I turned he was there! Inside! I attempted to follow him many times, but he kept getting past me! It was very confusing. Eventually I gave up and left (Akyurek, M., personal communication, July 8, 2023).*
H: So… George… I’ve read that peacocks sometimes mistake their reflections for another peacock (Knox, 2021). Do you think this may be what happened that day?
G: (After a lengthy pause) No, you’re definitely wrong.
H: Are you sure?
G: Yes. I’m very sure.
H: Okay, well let’s change the topic for a while. You visit the UVic Child Care Services yards sometimes. Why? There are a lot of children there, and they tend to be rather noisy.
G: I agree, the children are a little loud, but they do tend to be very respectful of my space, and they have a lot of healthy plants and bugs for me to eat in their yards. The other children near the houses try to feed me, but I often feel a little sick after I eat their food.
H: I’m glad you feel the children at the child care centres are so respectful. Part of our Early Learning Framework (2019) is all about learning to live respectfully with our community, including our more-than-human friends, like you, who share this land with us.
G: That’s great to hear. Thanks for teaching them to be kind to me. I’m really glad that’s part of your philosophy.
H: Me too. So George, I’ve heard that the university has considered re-homing you.
G: Re-homing? What’s that? I have a home!
H: It’s when people decide to move an animal to a new home or territory. There are many different reasons it might happen.
G: But why though??!!?!?!? I live here!
H: I know George, but some people worry that the children could get hurt. Or that you could get hurt by a child.
G: I wouldn’t hurt a child! Not on purpose! Sometimes they scare me, so I follow my instincts and try to intimidate them by fanning my feathers, and sometimes making sounds so they know I don’t like it when they’re close to me. They need to notice what I’m doing and step back!
H: I know, and animal control agrees that you shouldn’t have to move away if you aren’t posing a threat to anyone (Link, 2023). I think it’s more the humans that are posing a threat to you, than you posing a threat to us.
G: IT’S TRUE!!!!!! DON’T MAKE ME LEAVE! I LIVE HERE!!! (Loud squawking ensues)
H: And some people worry that you could accidentally attract a cougar to the campus (Link, 2023).
G: A COUGAR????? WHERE???!?!?!? (He fans his feathers, starts turning around in circles, and continues squawking)
H: George, calm down. (Squawking continues) GEORGE!!!! GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF! THERE IS NO COUGAR!!!
G: What??? Are you sure???
H: Yes, I’m sure.
G: Oh… Okay… (stops and folds his feathers down) You scared me! I really don’t like cougars!
H: Sorry about that. I should have phrased that differently.
G: That’s for sure! I think I need to rest now. That got really intense for me just now.
H: I’m sorry George. I’ve upset you. I hope you can get some sleep tonight.
G: If I have nightmares about cougars, I’ll be standing outside your bedroom window to yell at you about it.
H: That is totally fair. Goodnight George.
G: You better hope it’s good.
And with that he turned and walked off into the night. I hope I didn’t upset him too much. He already has enough to be upset about with the neighbourhood kids following him around all the time. Hopefully he will continue to be a respected member of our community. Everyone loves him and it would be a shame if he had to leave.
*The story George related about the other peacock has been verified by a friend of mine. One day he got very confused by some automatic sliding glass doors on campus. He went in and out for quite some time as my friend watched from her office window.
Rererences
British Columbia Ministry of Education, Ministry of Children and Family Development, and Ministry of Health. (2019). British Columbia Early Learning Framework. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/early-learning/teach/earlylearning/early_learning_framework.pdf
Beauty of Birds. (2022, September 18). Why do peacocks spread their feathers (or train)? Beauty of birds. https://beautyofbirds.com/why-do-peacocks-spread-their-feathers/
Knox, J. (2021, July 18). Jack Knox: Polarizing Beacon Hill Park peacocks proliferate, puzzle. Times colonist. https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/jack-knox-polarizing-beacon-hill-park-peacocks-proliferate-puzzle-4690758
Link, H. (2023, January 26). Students flock to Instagram to follow the beloved UVic peacock. Martlet. https://martlet.ca/uvic-students-flock-to-instagram-to-follow-beloved-peacock/