Wildlife Activists Try To Save Staten Island's Wild Turkeys

[UglyGreed]

By one estimate, Americans will eat 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving.

But this story is not about them. It's about a smaller group of turkeys — about 100 who roam the wild streets of New York City. These feral birds live in Staten Island, the least urban of the five boroughs. Local officials have been trying to relocate the birds for years, but their plan has had trouble getting off the ground.

These turkeys are pretty easy to spot. For one thing, they tend to wander out into the middle of the street. And for another, they're big. The males get up to 3 feet tall.

"He's got his feathers puffed out," says Joanna Tierno, a resident of Midland Beach on Staten Island. "He's strutting around. He's trying to impress all the ladies over here. He's looking really handsome."


http://www.npr.org/2014/11/27/366550330/wildlife-activists-try-to-save-staten-islands-wild-turkeys

[pipoman]

1. Turkeys are incredibly resilient

Wild turkeys were wiped out in my state by 19th century settlers. In 1983 the state, using only funds from hunting license sales, and The Wild Turkey Federation reintroduced turkeys to state owned ground. Today there isn't a tree row, or wooded area anywhere in the state not occupied by turkeys. Additionally, bobcats have increased by nearly 10 times, coyotes were suffering from mange...both populations are now healthy and thriving. Hunters come here from other states now to hunt turkeys. The reintroduction was a great success

[ileus]

2. I remember being in Stamford CT for training

I walked out one day at lunch and there just past my car was a huge gobbler and two hens. Right there in the heart of the "city"...pretty cool I thought.