Scientists estimate that around 10 million wild turkeys used to roam the continent, according to journalist and naturalist Sy Montgomery. The turkey population dropped as a result of colonization and industrialization. Now the prevalence of wild turkeys is considered an animal conservation success story.
Montgomery joined Boston Public Radio to talk about the benefits of wild turkeys to ecosystems, why some turkeys are drawn to people and how to fend them off.
“The early people who came here before our settlers came and wrecked it with our railroads and our logging and all of the hunters — they used turkeys for not only food, but for clothing and tools, and their feathers were used in ceremonies,” Montgomery said.
After conservation efforts, turkey levels as a whole have not reached pre-Columbian times, but some areas now have more turkeys than ever before.
Montgomery says this is a good thing. “Turkeys also eat a ton of ticks and other bugs that you might not want to have,” she explained.
Still, the benefits of turkeys to ecosystems bring the danger of wild turkey attacks, an issue prevalent in the Boston area. Montgomery had a few tips for residents who might find themselves face-to-face with a turkey, including minding bird feeders and refraining from feeding them like domestic pets.
“Sometimes turkeys are attracted to shiny objects. They see their reflection and they think it's another turkey moving in on their territory,” she said. “Sometimes covering up your car mirror or covering up some shiny thing that’s attracting them will cause them to not be so interested.”
Other times, turkeys might gravitate toward humans out of a sense of loneliness. “Sometimes they just want your company,” Montgomery explained. “[My neighbor] used to go jogging and right after him — everybody would see him running on Route 137 — and in back of him he had a turkey friend who would run with him every single day.”
Ever the naturalist, Montgomery does not mind her own turkey friend that hangs out with her when she shovels snow. “I love it actually. It’s fantastic.”
Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor.
