FOLSOM, Calif. — Folsom’s elusive golden pheasant is home.
Boaz, a 2-year-old golden pheasant who escaped Rick and Mary Clark’s backyard on July 31 near the East Bidwell Street and Blue Ravine Road intersection after dogs broke in and chewed his cage open, was found and brought home Aug. 8 after wandering Folsom for over a week, the couple said.
Local social media groups were littered with photos of Boaz sightings until one woman in Empire Ranch, about seven miles away, called the Clarks and said she had him in her garage, according to the couple.
“We went out on about eight or nine journeys to get him,” Rick Clark said. “We’d get into somebody's yard, then he would hop on the fence and go into somebody else’s.”
Mary Clark said she, her husband and her son went to pick up the bird. Boaz came up to her because he’s used to her feeding him all the time, and her son captured him in a net, she said.
“My husband got him and held him until we got home,” she said. “He’s doing great. Ruth, his mate…He’s just following her around the cage. She was lonesome without him.
Who is Boaz the pheasant?
The Clarks said they adopted male and female pheasants, Boaz and Ruth, about two years ago because Rick Clark’s father used to raise birds, and one day he chose to do the same.
The birds are reportedly named after Bible characters. Boaz, the runaway pheasant, is named after Ruth’s husband in the Bible story, which is often associated with loyalty and faithfulness.
“He’s been in some beautiful backyards,” Mary Clark said.
