Managing editor
Nobody knows where he came from but many Marion residents are familiar with him.
He’s the big, black rooster that many people see on Main Street by Central Park and on the north side of Main Street. Typically, he can be found in the early morning hours, a favorite time for most roosters. He dodges traffic like a roadrunner, running in-between houses, eluding even seasoned animal catchers.
“He’s a rascal,” Marion Police Chief Josh Whitwell said.
Attempts have been made by his department to capture the wild fowl with live traps to take him to a more suitable home in the country. But so far, the wily rooster has outsmarted them.
Numerous complaints have been made with the police department, typically early Sunday mornings, when the rooster does what he does best — crows right before sunrise.
Neighbors in the area believe someone dumped him in Central Park before Chingawassa Days, the first weekend of June. Since the festival, the rooster has been running across Main Street to residences and eating spilled grain in the street gutter. Quick glimpses of him reveal he hasn’t been starving. His colorful feathers and full figure indicate he hasn’t missed many meals.
Fears among animal lovers in the neighborhood are eventually a car will hit the rooster.
Despite his city life, he still is skittish around humans, particularly those with cameras.
Some believe he roosts in the lush forest between the park and Marion High School campus. Children have come to know the flighty fowl, searching for him but never getting close enough to pet or catch.
City folk should be aware that a full-grown rooster could cause serious bodily injury if someone attempts to catch him without proper protection. Sharp claws and beak and powerful wings can put fear in the heart of adults.
“I’d like for someone to (safely) catch him and give him a good home,” Whitwell said, “before something does happen to him.”