The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was designated as South Carolina's official State
Wild Game Bird in 1976 and it is also the official game bird of Alabama, Oklahoma, and
Massachusetts. There’s only one other type of turkey in the world, the Ocellated Turkey;
it lives in Central and South America.
The wild turkey was a very important food animal to the Native Americans and it was
the Aztecs who domesticated it. Descendants of the Mexican domesticated turkeys were
later introduced into Europe in 1519 by Spanish explorers and it’s interesting to know
that the Pilgrims brought farm turkeys with them when they sailed to the New World
because they didn’t realize that turkeys occurred wild here.
The Amazing Comeback Kid
Even though wild turkeys were once very abundant (and they are again today), they had
vanished from much of their original range by the early 1900s. Because of heavy hunting
pressure and habitat loss, turkeys had completely disappeared from the northeast and
game managers estimate that there were once as few as 30,000 alive. The birds were
eventually protected, though, and trap-and-transfer programs were begun. When these
efforts were combined with habitat protection and the return of the mature forests that the
birds need, success was remarkable. Today, turkey numbers are healthy and hunting
them is again legal across the entire country. They are now even living in Hawaii, where
they weren’t found originally. Current estimates say that there may be around 7 million
of these birds alive today.
Could Have Been Our National Symbol
Benjamin Franklin once wrote a letter to his daughter in 1784, criticizing the choice of
the bald eagle as the national bird and suggesting that the wild turkey would have made a
better alternative. The letter was written after Congress spent six years choosing the
newly formed country’s emblem. It isn’t apparently, however, whether he ever officially
advocated for the turkey.
“
For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the
Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral character. He does
not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead
Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the
Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken
a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young
Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.
With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men
who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy.
Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow
attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no
means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who
have driven all the King birds from our Country...
I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald
Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in
Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native
of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage,
and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who
should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.
”
This Isn’t Your Typical Turkey
Quite different from the domestic turkey, the wild turkey is smaller and much much
smarter. They are not only swift runners, but they are also surprisingly agile fliers and
can fly as fast as 50 miles per hour. Although they usually stay close to the ground, they
can fly for a quarter mile and they typically spend the night in trees over water where
they are safest.
Wild Turkeys are omnivorous, foraging for food on the ground or climbing shrubs and
small trees to feed. Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of
their ability to eat so many different types of food. They prefer eating hard mast such as
acorns and other nuts, as well as various seeds, berries roots and insects. Turkeys are also
known to occasionally gobble up small vertebrates like snakes, frogs or salamanders.
They sometimes visit backyard bird feeders to search for seed on the ground and they’re
known to enjoy a wide variety of grasses. Around 80% of a turkey's diet is actually made
up of grass.
Fun Facts:
• Turkeys have between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers.
• The color can change with the turkey’s mood, with a solid white head and neck
being the most excited.
• Although the Wild Turkey was well known to American Indians and widely used
by them as food, certain tribes considered these birds stupid and cowardly and did
not eat them for fear of acquiring these characteristics.
• The sound of a turkey gobble can travel up to a mile
Turkey Links:
http://www.nwtf.org/
http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/turkey.html