This estimated 5 y/o, 18 pound male, with a 14 inch beard responded to a slate call and found himself facing a nikon, mounted on a 12 gauge, loaded with # 2 shot, choked full/mod. We call this fresh wild turkey dinner. Meleagris gallopavo with succulent, savory, diver harvested, oyster stuffing was confirmed at the dinner table. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
  1. Turkeys originated in North and Central America, and evidence indicates that they have been around for over 10 million years.
  2. During the 1930s only 30,000 of the symbols of Thanksgiving were believed left on Earth.
  3. On the verge of extinction 65 years ago, the rebound of the wild turkey is one of the biggest environmental success stories of the century. A combination of HUNTERS, conservationists and state wildlife agents brought the wild turkey not only back from the brink, but to a record high population that is growing with no end in sight.
  4. About 4.2 million wild turkeys now roam North America, in every state but Alaska. That's more than double the population on the continent when Columbus arrived.
  5. Genetically, the wild turkey is the same species as the bird that will be found on most dinner plates on Thanksgiving, but that's about all they have in common. The wild turkeys don't look like their genetically bred-for-lots-of-meat domestic counterparts. The dinner-plate turkey was domesticated about 500 years ago by American Indians, shipped to and bred in Europe and then raised back in North America.
  6. As the country developed westward and turned forests into farmland for food production, the wild turkey lost its habitat. Since a 1937 federal law began collecting excise taxes from HUNTERS, more than $3.2 billion has been given to states to restore wildlife habitats, much of it for wild turkeys.
  7. There is a much greater wild turkey range in the United States than there has ever been. Turkeys now live in states, such as Washington and Hawaii, where they never used to be.
  8. Wild turkeys are good at avoiding HUNTERS. Unlike the recently rebounding white-tailed deer, wild turkeys aren't pests in their newfound numbers.
  9. When fleeing danger they have explosive flight, briefly achieving speeds of up to 80 m.p.h. They can fly about a mile in a single flight at an average of 32 to 55 m.p.h. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground, running at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.
  10. Native only to North America, they do not migrate. Their primary habitat is hardwood forest.
  11. Males are polygamous, with many mates, but females are not. There is a strong hierarchical pecking order. Females lay about 10 to 15 eggs at a time; they incubate 26 to 30 days.
  12. Wild turkeys can live as long as 10 to 13 years.
  13. Be a HUNTER, buy a hunting license. Help manage our natural resources. Help manage our game. Help prevent species extinction. Even if you don't hunt, buy a license. It's one of the few taxes that goes where it should when you pay it. Most of the fee is used for game management or habitat preservation.

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