The Invasion of the Wild Turkeys!
In the 1930's these native birds were almost hunted to extinction in North America. Thanks to reintroduction efforts there are about seven million wild turkeys and are living in suburban America. Some of these wild turkeys have been spotted strolling around downtown Manhattan and other areas of New England. Many biologists are surprised with how well they have adapted to the suburban America and how they do not need the thought 6,000 acres of contiguous forest habitat.
The public has had some mixed feelings about them (some say that these animals are big and scary and others are entertained by their presence). Gregonis, wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, tells frightened callers that they have to show the aggressive birds who's boss. Gregonis stated that conflicts between the birds and humans are rare so you do not have to harass them. The few conflicts are caused by young birds trying to establish their domain and one should not be threatened, they are just trying to show you that they are in charge. Gregonis also added that people should not feed them because this might increase their aggressiveness. Other than that, they are harmless and very fun to watch.
Article from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071119-wild-turkeys.html
Posted by Carmen B. Arsuaga (9)
posted by PWH @ 8:34 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Dear Carmen,
This is a really interesting article! I live in Connecticut, and there are turkeys in my backyard all the time. I see them crossing roads all the time with their young trailing behind them. I'm surprised to hear that some people are threatened by them. I wonder if the populations are threatened at all by humans, such as being hit by cars. Great job!
Posted by: Emily King
I was surprised to read that these animals are known to be so aggressive. I live in central Massachusetts and see wild turkeys all the time and they don’t strike me as aggressive when strolling across yards and streets. Maybe the point of almost extinction in the past has changed these animals behaviors? But if I was being hunted for a meal each year I would be a bit aggressive tords the human population also. Interesting article and great job!
Posted By: Rachel McMahon (9)
It is very surprised that see monkeys around Manhattan. But I have never seen one around where I live. So does that mean the monkeys will be more aggressive and try to tell us that they wre the boss?
Posted by: Xuni Li (9)
I assume that since they are so used to humans they might also be used to cars and might not be frightened and just stay in the middle of the road and cause traffic. It would be a very funny site to see a turkey stopping traffic.
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