A peacock which has become something of a local celebrity with his appearances in Douglas has a new home.

The bird, which was first spotted at Tesco car park, was later seen all over the capital, walking the streets, and inspecting residents’ gardens.

These appearances led to readers sending in their pictures to us of the peacock and, in its Courier column, the ManxSPCA said it had received more calls about the peacock than any other animal this year.

The charity also revealed that attempts to capture the bird had proved unsuccessful.

However, Manx Wild Bird Aid has now succeeded in that goal, with the help of a woman living in Douglas.

The charity posted on its Facebook page: ’Kim Collister saw the peacock in her garden being chased by her cat and managed to entice him into the safety of her garage before contacting Manx Wild Bird Aid for help.

’Volunteers were able to secure the peacock before transporting him to a large aviary where he will be fed and rehabilitated before being released to a new home with a female companion.’

Co-founders of MWBA Barbara and David Cole told the Examiner that the peacock is ’big and strong’ and had ’settled in well’ at a farm where he is currently living in an aviary.

Mrs Cole said they were working towards finding a mate or ’even just a friend’ for the bird before he is released.

She added that he would be held for ’about six weeks to allow him time to adapt to his new surroundings before being set free in the area, with the hope being that he won’t be making a return to Douglas.