A Walnut Grove, California, hotel says that someone took dozens of peacocks and peahens that normally wander its grounds. The missing birds are worth thousands of dollars.

A customer told staff at the Ryde Hotel Sunday that they saw two men putting one of the birds into a cage and onto the bed of a pickup truck. The hotel’s general manager, David Nielsen, told The Associated Press that all but four of the hotel’s birds are now missing.

“He said, ‘did you know someone grabbed one of your peacocks?’,’’Ryde Hotel catering coordinator Rafe Goorwitch told the Sacramento Bee.

The hotel has hosted peafowl for 14 years, starting with an initial population of five and growing from there, Mr. Nielsen told the AP. Prior to the incident, around 40 of the birds called the Ryde Hotel home.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says that they were told as many as 37 birds were missing, though only six have been confirmed missing, spokesperson Sgt. Amar Gandhi told SFGATE.

The colorfully plumed peacocks are valued at $2,000 a pop, while the peahens are valued at $1,000 each, Sgt. Gandhi told the AP. 

Mr. Goorwitch told SFGATE that “I had no idea that they were so desirable.”

On Facebook, the hotel asked that anyone with information on the disappearance or the whereabouts of the birds contact the hotel or the local station of the sheriff’s office in Walnut Grove.

Mr. Nielsen told Sacramento’s KCRA-TV that “it’s possible that these peacocks are being used for cockfighting, which is horrible. So, we’re hoping we get them back.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.