Peacock freezes to death after fleeing heated pen

DUNDEE, Ill. -- An adventurous peacock that escaped its pen at a Chicago-area petting zoo and became frozen in subzero temperatures has died.

The Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo in Dundee says the 5-year-old bird named Blue died Wednesday morning, a day after firefighters rescued the bird from a tree branch about 40 feet from the ground. The temperature outside was 12 degrees below zero.

Brian Mangiaracina is Randall Oaks' park and division manager. He says firefighters and zoo staff plucked Blue from a pine tree about 90 minutes after the bird fled his heated enclosure.

The zoo used warm water and a sweatshirt to restore Blue's circulation. Mangiaracina says Blue likely died because of a buildup of fluid in his lungs from the cold.

Dundee is about 35 miles northwest of Chicago.