Peacock destroys $500 of merchandise in California liquor store

June 6 (UPI) -- A peacock wreaked havoc on a Southern California liquor store by destroying hundreds of dollars worth of alcohol.

Royal Oaks Liquors manager Rani Ghanem told NBC Los Angeles a customer tipped him off to the presence of the large peafowl that had perched itself on a shelf beneath a neon Pabst Blue Ribbon beer sign.

"A lady said, 'Hey, uh, you have a bird inside your store,'" Ghanem said.

Ghanem was overwhelmed as the peacock flapped its wings around the store and even flew toward him.

"It flew towards me. I didn't know they could actually fly high but it flew up above the counter and it landed here on top of the ice cream freezer," he told CBS Los Angeles. "This was really out of my comfort zone, I was kind of scared I didn't know what to do."

The manager eventually called animal control, who quickly arrived to capture the large bird.

The peafowl desperately tried to avoid capture by flapping its wings and dodging the animal control officer's net.

In its attempts to evade the officer, the bird sent liquor bottles crashing to the floor, destroying $500 wine and champagne.

After struggling with the peafowl for a short while, the officer managed to sneak up behind the bird and capture it while it rested on a high shelf.

The officer told Ghanem he would release the peafowl at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.