The United Nations Office at Geneva
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STORY: Peacocks return to UN Geneva
TRT: 2 mins 33s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 4 & 7 August 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speakers:
- Tatiana Valovaya, UNOG Director-General
- Arindam Bagchi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva
- Dr Tobias Blaha, Director of Geneva Bioparc and vet
- Laetitia Menin, Facilities Management Officer
SHOTLIST
- UN Geneva flag alley.
- Medium shot of the peacocks in the aviary.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tatiana Valovaya, UNOG Director-General (English): “We are very happy to welcome five new peacocks, four blue, one white in typical United Nations colours: blue and white. And we have created a temporary house for them. They will stay here for the next three months, and then they will be allowed to - it's just for their adaptation - and then they will be allowed to move freely and enjoy the hospitality of the Ariana Park."
- Ambulance carrying live animals crossing UN Geneva security gate.
- Ambulance driving within Palace of Nations grounds.
- Man carrying a box marked “live animals” containing a peacock to the aviary.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Arindam Bagchi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva: “This is really a privilege for the Indian mission here to be able to donate five peacocks, ‘Pavo cristatus’, to the UNOG. There is a tradition of having peacocks here. We have donated in 1981 and are delighted to be able to continue this tradition.”
- The Director-General inside the new aviary feeding the five new arrivals.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tobias Blaha, Director of Geneva Bioparc and vet: “It's really a dream habitat for them because they don't need to be kept in an aviary for a long time. And they have a lot of old trees, they have shade, they have different kinds of flowers and a lot of grass areas as well.”
- Medium shot of UN staff opening up the boxes containing peacocks.
- Wide shot of handlers opening the ‘live animals’ boxes.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tobias Blaha, Director of Geneva Bioparc and vet: “If the peacocks are getting older or they're not used to living in a big wide park, they often stay on branches which are not high enough to be protected by foxes. So, we need to observe things, and during the first weeks that they sleep really higher, and the higher they sleep, the less the risk is, because foxes don't climb up trees.”
- Medium shot of aviary with rare white peacock.
- SOUNDBITE (French) Laetitia Menin, Facilities Management Officer: « Le fait que ce soit que des mâles qui grandissent ensemble, parce que c'est des paons qui sont nés cette année, ils devraient trouver leur position dans le groupe et donc ne pas se sauver au printemps, au moment où il y a le réveil des hormones et quand on a des femelles sur le site. »
– Translation : « Since they are all males growing up together—having hatched this year—they should establish their place within the group and therefore not run off in the spring, when hormones kick in and there are females on the grounds.” - Wide shot of aviary.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tatiana Valovaya, UNOG Director General: “Peacock tradition here started in mid-19th century when it was a private property, Ariana Park. The proprietor was really very interested to preserve biodiversity, but also to increase it, how that's how peacocks became part of the Ariana Park.”
- Wide shot of aviary.
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