GENEVA, Aug 10: India has renewed a decades-old tradition at the United Nations Office at Geneva by donating five Indian peacocks, including a rare white feathered male, to the UN premises.
The birds were formally handed over during a special ceremony on Friday by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Arindam Bagchi, to UN Geneva Director General Tatiana Valovaya. The gesture highlights India’s rich biodiversity while reinforcing its longstanding association with the United Nations.
The group consists of four blue peafowl and one white-feathered male. Their colours also complement the blue and white traditionally associated with the United Nations.
India has previously contributed peafowl to the UN Geneva complex. In 1981, then prime minister Indira Gandhi presented a breeding pair from the Delhi Zoo, marking the beginning of the country’s connection with the peacock population at Ariana Park.
“The Indian Peacock, a symbol of grace, beauty and resilience, represents India’s enduring commitment to the conservation of biodiversity and environmental stewardship,” the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva said.
Valovaya welcomed the contribution and thanked the Indian government for the gesture, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission.
The newly arrived birds will be cared for by the Geneva Bioparc zoo in coordination with UN staff. Tobias Blaha, the zoo’s director, described Ariana Park as an ideal environment for the birds.
The peacocks will initially be kept in a protected enclosure for approximately three months. Once they have adapted to their new surroundings, they are expected to be released into Ariana Park, allowing them to move freely across the grounds of the UN’s European headquarters.
Spread across 46 hectares, Ariana Park is among Geneva’s most prominent green spaces. The property was made available by the City of Geneva for international institutions, first for the League of Nations and later for the United Nations.
The presence of peacocks at the park predates both organisations. The tradition is linked to Swiss archaeologist and art collector Gustave Revilliod, who left the estate to the city of Geneva in 1890.
Peafowl have remained part of the park’s landscape for more than a century. A significant number of the birds currently seen there were donated in 1997 by a Japanese zoo.
The latest Indian contribution is expected to further enrich the biodiversity of the UN premises while bringing a distinctive element of India’s natural and cultural heritage to Ariana Park.
The Permanent Mission said the gesture also reflects India’s continued commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation and its partnership with the United Nations.
By restoring the tradition begun with the 1981 donation, India has once again linked its national symbol of beauty and resilience with one of the world’s most prominent centres of international diplomacy.