By 1969 or earlier, Japan had introduced peacocks to its southern islands as pets and zoo attractions, and escaped birds later preyed on native lizards and butterflies

Long before raccoons or bluegill became familiar invasive species in Japan, peafowl had already taken hold in the country’s subtropical south. In the Sakishima Islands, the westernmost island group of the Ryukyu archipelago, Indian peafowl were introduced as ornamental birds and kept in captivity, with NIES recording their introduction into Japan in 1969 or earlier through the escape of birds kept as pets or in zoos.

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