Wild Turkeys
It’s estimated that only 30,000 wild turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo, were left in North America by the early 1900s.
It’s estimated that only 30,000 wild turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo, were left in North America by the early 1900s.
European settlers regarded wild turkeys as a walking feast and they were hunted wherever they were encountered. Habitat destruction—the loss of mature forests and rampant development as settlers marched westward—only exacerbated the situation.
Most biologists point to a dark time in America’s history as a saving grace for the wild turkey. The Great Depression’s stranglehold on rural America caused millions of residents to give up on the “family farm” and migrate to the city in hopes of finding work. Those farms and homesteads began to reforest, creating better turkey habitat at a time when federal and local governments began to focus on game laws and wildlife conservation.
Because the iconic wild turkey had such a following (remember Ben Franklin lobbied hard to have the turkey designated as our national symbol) many state agencies began trying to reestablish it across its natural habitat. But the logistics of reintroduction were as new as the idea of wildlife conservation and there was a learning curve. Game managers, at first, simply hatched turkey eggs and deposited the offspring into prime habitat. A lesson was learned—momma teaches baby turkeys what to eat, how to find it, how to hide from predators and how to survive in the wild. Without those lessons turkeys couldn’t and didn’t survive in the wild.
Around 1950 biologists/conservationists created a new tool—the cannon net. With this device they could lure turkeys into open areas and then BANG! shoot a net over them before they could escape. When they released the wild turkeys into other areas, the turkeys survived just fine. The National Wild Turkey Federation, founded in 1973, joined with volunteers and agencies across the country to help reestablish wild turkey throughout their historic range, which includes proper habitat in the 48 lower states plus parts of Mexico and Canada.
Turkeys raced to reclaim their habitat. The current population is just a little over 6 million and one would be hard pressed to spend more than a couple of hours outdoors across the Blue Ridge without hearing or seeing a wild turkey. Many people (especially with rural homes) only have to look outside to see this magnificent bird.
The wild turkey is one of the largest birds in North America, standing nearly 4 feet tall, weighing up to 24 pounds, and with a wingspan of almost 5 feet.
Yes, Virginia, turkeys can fly—but usually not for great distances. Turkeys are dark with a coppery iridescence. The tails of eastern birds are tipped in black, while birds of the Southwest have white-tipped tails. The head is bare and grayish-blue. The male (called Toms and/or gobblers) has a bright red wattle (fleshy skin that hangs from its chin) and the head also turns red during mating season. The male also has an extension of hair-like feathers that project from its breast called a beard and is quite impressive during mating season as it struts and gobbles with its tail fanned out to impress the ladies.
Turkeys are very gregarious in fall and winter often foraging in flocks as large as 50 or more. They disperse in spring as breeding season begins, and the hens nest individually and raise their young, known as polts.
Did you know?
- European explorers brought wild turkeys from Mexico to Europe in the 1500s.
- The name turkey came about because shipping routes that brought the birds to Europe passed through Turkey.
- Turkey fossils have been recorded from 5 million years ago.