Is the Grove lifestyle slipping away?
This letter was in today's Herald. I think it sums up metaphorically exactly what is happening to the Grove:
Around 5 a.m. Sunday, a drunken and/or drugged patron of the Grove's downtown sleaze emporiums ran over one of our beautiful peacocks on Loquat Avenue.
We all love our peacocks, our dogs and cats. There is little you can do against these behemoths.
As I look into the eyes of my fellow Grovites, I see sadness and frustration as they watch this special place that they hold so dear slip away from them more each day. Mercy Hospital, a venerated and well-loved Grove institution, has sold its soul to a developer for a bank vault of silver.
Some gallant Grovites are fighting to get their Village center back by forming a Business Improvement District and returning it to a safe and clean place to stroll, shop and eat. Grovites are struggling to keep their parks, save their waterfront, protect their canopy and resist the hegemony of developers.
This morning I held a dead peacock in my arms and wept. It was not just for this beautiful bird but also for the Grove, a dying Peacock that I have come to love and feel so helpless to save.
BOB FERREIRA
COCONUT GROVE
Around 5 a.m. Sunday, a drunken and/or drugged patron of the Grove's downtown sleaze emporiums ran over one of our beautiful peacocks on Loquat Avenue.
We all love our peacocks, our dogs and cats. There is little you can do against these behemoths.
As I look into the eyes of my fellow Grovites, I see sadness and frustration as they watch this special place that they hold so dear slip away from them more each day. Mercy Hospital, a venerated and well-loved Grove institution, has sold its soul to a developer for a bank vault of silver.
Some gallant Grovites are fighting to get their Village center back by forming a Business Improvement District and returning it to a safe and clean place to stroll, shop and eat. Grovites are struggling to keep their parks, save their waterfront, protect their canopy and resist the hegemony of developers.
This morning I held a dead peacock in my arms and wept. It was not just for this beautiful bird but also for the Grove, a dying Peacock that I have come to love and feel so helpless to save.
BOB FERREIRA
COCONUT GROVE
posted by Tom Falco at 9:21 AM
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15 Comments:
This is ridiculous. The peacock population is out of control anyway. They are annoying and keep me awake at night.
I was sad to read this story in today's Herald. The peacocks are always the highlight when walking the dog through the neighborhood. Can any one tell me how they became wild in the Grove?
They seem to be wild in many areas. Palmetto Bay used to have wild peacocks all around Old Cutler Road, but some moron named Carrie started selling them off in pairs after Hurricane Andrew.
I think she ended up being arrested for that, but alas, they are no more in that area, she wiped out that population.
To the person that the peacocks keep awake:
I've seen you. You do need some beauty sleep. We'll try to keep the peacocks quiet. (You might try to get some inner beauty as well as long as you're getting your extra ZZZZZ's)
There is a peacock overpopulation (and they keep multiplying!) They are everywhere! They freqent the neighborhoods day and night. About 10 or more have taken up roosting in my yard most nights. They leave their excrement in my front yard which is a potential carrier of the bird flu virus. This is a potential public health safety issue.
Does anyone else have this or a similar problem with the peacocks?
Not surprisingly, they taste like chicken
Really now... Peacock poop a carrier of the Bird Flu virus?
I need a minute to digest the inane idiocy of such a comment.
And those poor defenseless peacocks leave no more excrement than our beloved population of dogs that also share the streets.
In other countries peacocks have tested positive for bird flu. See these news briefs.
From Voice of America News, www.voanews.com:
Pakistan: Bird Flu Outbreak Kills Peacocks, Closes Zoo
By VOA News
20 February 2007
A flu-infested peacock being taken away from Islamabad's Marghzar zoo
An outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least four peacocks and one goose in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
A livestock official from the ministry of Food and Agriculture said test results confirmed the presence of H5N1 and that affected birds are being destroyed.
Officials have closed Islamabad's Marghzar zoo where the outbreak occurred.
This is the fourth case of deadly bird flu detected in Pakistan. No human cases have been recorded.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
From www.worldpoultry.net:
Bird flu in Pakistan sparks concern// 23 Feb 2007
Pakistan's neighbouring states, such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab have been alerted following the outbreaks of the H5N1 bird flu in Pakistan. There are concers that this highly contagious virus may travel across the border.
The virus has recently killed chickens in Rawalpindi, peacocks in north-west Mansehra, as well as several turkeys in the capital, Islamabad. Now it is reported that the virus has struck peacocks at the Marghzar zoo in Islamabad.
In February 2006 there was a bird flu outbreak, killing poultry in Maharashtra and setting off a wave of panic in the rest of the country, resulting in extensive culling. The virus was finally stamped out in April.
According to David Nabarro, Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, this season's wave of avian flu, unlike that of last season, is largely believed to be passed on through the poultry trade as opposed to migration of contaminated wild birds.
Using its network, the Bombay Natural History Society has been monitoring wild birds at almost 30 sites in the country. The migrations into India have ended and the wild birds are likely to start their spring migration back to the northern latitudes in a few weeks' time.
As the price of chicken was lower in India than in neighbouring countries, smuggling of these birds from across the border was not likely.
On the other hand, the virus might hitch a ride into India on a bird like the peacock, which was not a great flier but hopped from one field to another, he added.
Related links:
Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza
Bombay Natural History Society
Ways bird flu is spread from Centers for Disease Control (CDC)at www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/spread.htm :
Avian influenza viruses circulate among birds worldwide. Certain birds, particularly water birds, act as hosts for influenza viruses by carrying the virus in their intestines and shedding it. Infected birds shed virus in saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Susceptible birds can become infected with avian influenza virus when they have contact with contaminated nasal, respiratory, or fecal material from infected birds. Fecal-to-oral transmission is the most common mode of spread between birds.
Most often, the wild birds that are host to the virus do not get sick, but they can spread influenza to other birds. Infection with certain avian influenza A viruses (for example, some H5 and H7 strains) can cause widespread disease and death among some species of domesticated birds. (For more information, see “Low Pathogenic versus Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses.”)
There is no epidemic of bird flu in South Florida, much less the United States, much less this part of the globe.
The peacock poop in North Coconut Grove is not a threat to your well being, I assure you.
If you frequent Pakistan, India and that part of the hemisphere, then maybe, just maybe, you could take some precautions handling bird poop, etc. However, this is not my karma, and I, personally, most certainly would not live in fear of contracting the bird flu, either here in Miami nor Asia. But that's just me.
But hey, thanks for the research and links. You people have time.
Grove definitely needs an identity makeover.
I guess we all have to make a personal commitment to keeping the Nut in Coconut Grove! :)
Much to my husband's chagrine, I'm doing my best!
(and Viva los Peacocks!)
doctorj,
With all do respect, this is not Pakistan. And, although one must always remain keenly aware of the potential dangers that exist in the world today, it is precisely comments such as yours that perpetuate the state of fear in this country today.
Between the Republican talking points predicting mushroom clouds and the 24 hour news stations hyping the next pandemic between Ana Nicole updates, it just seems like a sad and tiresome way to live. Relax a little bit
No, this is not Pakistan. I am still trying to understand why the US government has been spending our tax dollars to prepare and inform everyone (especially healthcare providers) about the bird flu (and prepare a vaccine!) for the past few years. It seems so unlikely that it will affect the US.
My initial comments used the word "potential". The information about bird flu in peacocks was in response to the blogger who was unsure that peacocks and their poop are "potential" carriers.
Relaxed but informed. Let's talk about the blog topic, getting the Grove back...
Protect what is left of the peacocks. There is human overpopulation and an astounding decrease in what is left of beautiful animals and the surrounding environment.
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