Running A Fowl at Square du Temple

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Ever since last year’s World Cup, Paris has had a very odd couple living in one of its parks. The Square du Temple, in the upper Marais, just south of Place de la République, is green space dedicated to playing children, summertime sunbathers, and bench lovers. Man I love a good bench.

But after the World Cup, allegedly, a local who had purchased a rooster, France’s team mascot, let the bird loose in park. Later, feeling sorry for the lonesome fowl, someone bought him a hen, according to an old Frenchman who explained this to me a few months ago while I was staring at the birds.
Various combinations of hens and roosters have inhabited the park (according to other accounts). At one point, the hen and rooster pair had even adopted what seemed to be a little duckling. There’s nothing wrong with mixed-species families, right?

Sadly, while walking through the park today, I spotted two park workers with boxes and a dead hen with black plumage on the bench. Apparently the winter had not been so kind to her. The rooster, however, the only one that I could spot still in the park, was still wandering around, cockadoodling (cocorico in French…), and pecking at various bits of food thrown by park goers. He didn’t seem too phased. He may have been in shock still.

A good looking bird...

Whether or not he’ll be alone this spring or not remains unclear. This is Paris, a city known for romance, and he’s a good-looking bird, so I don’t think he’ll have too much trouble finding love. Hopefully he’ll get a new hen friend to lay some eggs and usher the spring in with a new family.

Or maybe he’ll end up on someone’s dining room table. It’s a coin toss at this point.

A rooster's wonderland...

Either way, I’ll keep an eye on him and let you know how he’s doing.

Badass.