Peacock Mistaken for Vampire, Severely Beaten

New York City -- A male peacock wandered into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant on Staten Island last Thursday. The bird was immediately attacked by a man who mistook it for a vampire.

The peacock was beaten so severely that most of his tail feathers fell out, and was later euthanized, according to Richard Gentles of the Center for Animal Care and Control.

"It's just unbelievable that someone would do something to a poor, defenseless animal and do it in such a cruel fashion," he said.

Employees at the Burger King were feeding the peacock bread when the attacker appeared. According to one witness, the man seized the bird by the neck, threw it to the ground, and began to kick and stomp on it.

"He was going crazy," said Burger King employee, Felicia Finnegan.

Asked what he was doing, she said, the attacker explained, "'I'm killing a vampire!'"

Employees called the police, but the attacker fled before they arrived. He is still being sought by authorities, and is described as being in his late teens or early 20s. A resident of Staten Island who raises peacocks said he had given a few birds to someone who lives near the Burger King, which is probably how the peacock got there. The sad thing is, the police will probably never find the attacker.