These images show a man chasing and grabbing a terrified peacock at a zoo in China so he can pluck its feathers.

The incident took place at the Yunnan Wildlife Park, which is located in the city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in south-western China, on Wednesday, 9th February.

The footage shows a man wearing a face mask and a white jacket chasing after a blue-and-white peacock on the grass at the zoo.

He can be seen gripping a number of its beautiful feathers as it desperately attempts to evade him.

Other peacocks in the vicinity appear to be equally alarmed and can be seen fleeing the ruckus.

Despite running around at a significant speed, the frightened animal is unable to escape its pursuer, and the man eventually catches up with the terrified bird and can be seen attempting to yank a bunch of feathers out of its tail.

The poor bird can be seen flapping its wings wildly in a bid to escape, but it appears that the culprit has successfully immobilised it as the footage ends.

The peacock reportedly lost some feathers in the incident. The zoo said the peacock had suffered “irreversible damage”, explaining that when it displays its feathers during courtship, some will be missing and this will damage its chances of finding a mate.

The zoo said that while it had not managed to identify the perpetrator, it had increased its security. It is currently unclear if the police are investigating the incident.

It is not the first time that the peacocks at the Yunnan Zoo have been manhandled in this way. One incident, which was viewed tens of millions of times on social media in China, involved a tourist sprinting after a peacock and grabbing it by its tail feathers before pinning it down so she could pose for a photograph with it with her daughter.

The incident took place on 4th May 2020, and staff at the zoo said the bird had lost some feathers and had found the incident frightening.

Footage from the zoo shows the mum hoping to have her picture taken with the peacock.

As the bird tries to avoid her and the other crowd of visitors, she chases it down and grabs its tail before pinning the distressed animal down so her daughter can approach for a photograph.

Witnesses, who reported the unruly tourists to park staff, said the bird was only released about a minute later.

Other visitors present at the time claimed the woman’s husband had also plucked several feathers from its tail and had and given them to his child.

A Yunnan Zoo spokesperson said it had spoken to the tourists and reminded them to act “civilised” when on the zoo grounds.

No fines were issued, and the bird did not appear to have suffered lasting harm, the spokesperson said, adding that they would continue to monitor the peacock’s condition.

The zoo has also promised to improve management of its interactive areas, where tourists can view animals such as peafowl up close.