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Calgary Zoo officials say one of their peacocks flew too high and too far — right into the waiting jaws of one of its lions.

Last week, just days before the colourful bevy of birds were set to huddle in their winter habitat until spring, one of the more adventurous birds managed to flap its way into the African lion habitat on the east side of St. George’s Island.

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The result was sadly predictable.

Zoo spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder said keepers at the zoo were stunned by the audacity of the plucky peacock, which as a species aren’t generally known for long-distance flights.

“It’s not normal peacock behaviour that a bird would fly that high and that far into a habitat,” she said.

“To go as high as it did over a building is a feat in itself.”

The remaining collection of a half dozen male peacocks — the zoo has no peahens — are now safely tucked away in their winter enclosure, but Exton-Parder said the incident likely won’t result in any changes to the tradition of allowing the birds to walk free on the zoo grounds.