Turkey attacks?

FL-NC

FL-NC

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My news feed keeps send me stories about people being attacked by wild turkeys in multiple locations in Massachsetts. A mailman got sent to the hospital and people are freaking out about being stalked, attacked, having their cars chased, and so on. One guy is running them off with a hockey stick. I get it, they are an overgrown wild rooster- but my experiences with wild turkeys has always required waking up earlier than I would like to, camouflage, a good-performing shotgun, calling, and so on- with more failures than successes. I know if this same "emergency" happened anywhere around here, it wouldn't take long at all for us to "get it under control". Maybe Mass needs to open up an urban archery season in these areas where the citizens are being assaulted by thunder chickens. There are people that hunt in that state, right?
 
I think a lot of these turkey encounters are in the suburbs and residential neighborhoods. They roam from bird feeder to bird feeder, and have no natural predators. They are large and aggressive. Couple that with the fact that most modern people are unable to deal with anything like that, and are afraid to counter attack, and end the bird's life for fear of somebody complaining. "Animal cruelty", as the complaint might follow, is a felony in many states. The only real answer is numbers reduction, but few local governments are willing to expose themselves to negative media, and protests.
 
FL-NC said:
My news feed keeps send me stories about people being attacked by wild turkeys in multiple locations in Massachsetts. A mailman got sent to the hospital and people are freaking out about being stalked, attacked, having their cars chased, and so on. One guy is running them off with a hockey stick. I get it, they are an overgrown wild rooster- but my experiences with wild turkeys has always required waking up earlier than I would like to, camouflage, a good-performing shotgun, calling, and so on- with more failures than successes. I know if this same "emergency" happened anywhere around here, it wouldn't take long at all for us to "get it under control". Maybe Mass needs to open up an urban archery season in these areas where the citizens are being assaulted by thunder chickens. There are people that hunt in that state, right?
Click to expand...

There are people that hunt in that state, right?

Probably not very many. Here in WA we have three species, Merriam's, Rio Grande, and Eastern. Our state game department introduced them and has encouraged the hunting as our upland bird population has declined because of lose of habitat. Turkeys are omnivores so that has increased the pressure on upland birds. I've seen flocks of a 100 or more. Lots of people hunt them here but they aren't really that good to eat. Waterfowl and upland birds are much better.
 
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Driving along a big old creek, there were mailboxes on the side of the road. The mail truck was stopped to put mail in the box and two big old turkeys were offended and attacking the wheels of the truck. Local farm field was plowed up and about twenty turkeys were feeding on whatever was turned up. Quite a sight.
 
These are the same people that get fraught over pronouns. A turkey “attack” is overwhelming. The idea that they might have to kick a giant bird is just too frightening. They will take to their beds with the vapors and it will blow over.

But as mentioned above, when I go looking for them next week at the crack of dawn, humping through the bush, they’ll be as scarce as an honest politician.
 
I have relatives that live in the eastern half on Massachusetts where it is more densely populated and where no one hunts. And yes turkeys there have seemed to have lost all fear of humans. I always get a kick when they send photos of turkeys standing behind a running vehicle during the winter to keep warm. I always tell them that would never happen in Missouri, we warm turkeys up in deep fryers or the oven.
 
FL-NC said:
Maybe Mass needs to open up an urban archery season in these areas where the citizens are being assaulted by thunder chickens. There are people that hunt in that state, right?
Click to expand...
Mountain Lions, Wild Turkeys and Predator-Prey Dynamics - The National Wild Turkey Federation (nwtf.org)
Maybe urban Mass should import some mountain lions - especially from this part of Idaho. ;) I'm pretty sure the mountain lions took care of the wild turkey flock we paid the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to plant in the hills just west of here a few years back. :confused:
 
I don't consider turkeys the sharpest tool in the shed and therefore can not be held responsible for their actions. They have excellent eyesight and will spook at about anything and that makes them challenging to hunt. I have been attacked by game hens defending their chicks. When Canadian Geese are nesting around our plant they will attack anyone that they perceive threatening their nest. They have drawn blood on two employees at work who decided they wanted to show others that they were not afraid of them.
 
I wish one with a long beard would attack me in the next day or so.

As far as eating wild turkeys goes, I throw the legs and wings to the dogs and deep fry the breast.

All a wild turkey does is run or fly from everything he imagines which IS everything. Therefore the legs are so tough and stringy that you hurt your jaws trying to eat them.
 
.308 Norma said:
Mountain Lions, Wild Turkeys and Predator-Prey Dynamics - The National Wild Turkey Federation (nwtf.org)
Maybe urban Mass should import some mountain lions - especially from this part of Idaho. ;) I'm pretty sure the mountain lions took care of the wild turkey flock we paid the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to plant in the hills just west of here a few years back. :confused:
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You aren't supposed to plant them in the hills with cougars. You're supposed to plant them in ag areas where they can feed on grain and forage crops. Was all that money wasted on a collage degree?

Fish and game dept.'s see turkeys as a revenue source. Not much else. Eastern WA is overrun with wild turkeys. There's even a flock of them on the island where I live on the Puget Sound. They can thrive in almost any environment with predator's if its rural. We have a lot of coyotes and they still increase in number. We don't have cougars though. That's a different ball game.
 
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A buddy of mine was telling the following story a few years ago to a group of other hunters. He was really animated with the story. He had everyone in tears from laughing so hard. If you've ever heard Jerry Clower tell a story, then you will get an idea of how this went.

Seems my friend had shot a turkey. He thought it was dead, but a few seconds after picking it up it began attacking him and between the beak, spurs, and wings flapping the turkey was winning. Kevin was afraid that if he let go it would be worse. He at least had some control. There was a nearby creek that Kevin jumped in and he held the turkey's head under water trying to drown it. After 2-3 minutes the bird stopped moving and he thought it was over.

But about 30 seconds after getting out of the water the bird opened his eyes and mouth taking in a big gulp of air and the rodeo was on again.

Some of the younger guys may have never heard of Jerry Clower.

Jerry Clower - A coon hunting story - YouTube
 
Anybody that has picked up a turkey when it goes thru it's death flop(hunt on a hillside and you don't want them flopping 300 yards downhill) knows their leg and wing muscles are very powerful and their spurs are potential weapons. I have been beat by wings and scarred with spurs more than once. Having watched Toms duel during the breeding season, it is obvious they know how to fight. Raising domestic turkeys in the past, I can tell you a full grown Tom coming at you can be a tad intimidating. At least they are not like geese with a bite like a Vise-Grip. Like any other urbanized wild animal that has lost all fear of humans, they can be a nuisance. While not a real death threat, I would not want a very young child or a physically challenged person to have to experience a full blown attack. Watching city folk run wild eyed from domestic chickens makes me realize they probably soil themselves when chased by a turkey.
 
I live just off the end of a housing development bordering two large properties. So three sides wooded and one side you can see the development. Wild animals are the norm. Including turkeys, foxes, deer (who eat everything), coyotes, rabbits, raccoons, and just about anything else. Being that MA is just next door, I have never had a problem with an aggressive turkey. To make them take flight I just have to go outside and they all take off. Deer stay in the yard even with the dogs on the other side of the fence. I shoot them with bb's to make them run off, but they still come back. One of my neighbors shot one with a cross bow. One shot kill during legal season. No killer turkeys.
 
FL-NC said:
my experiences with wild turkeys has always required waking up earlier than I would like to, camouflage, a good-performing shotgun, calling, and so on- with more failures than successes.
Click to expand...

That’s because you were hunting them. Animals that don’t feel that pressure, act differently. It wouldn’t take very long if people started shooting at these guys with guns instead of cameras and they would change their behavior.

76BACC34-5093-4826-B82F-F6ACA72F4852.jpeg

Give them generations of safety and they lose some of their “wild”.

0706E8C6-5BA9-42CB-9C77-3E82779D6ACC.jpeg

Then you just need to add in a little idiot…because it’s not all gone.

 
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