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Insects are favoied by chicks during the first few months, after which time their diets are the same as adults.
Some chicks stay with their mothers during the winter, but males usually move off on their own at the end of the season.
Prior to the European colonization of the New World, wild turkeys numbered around 10 million in the U.S. but began to disappear progressively afterwards as a result of over-hunting and destruction of forested habitat.
By the Tate 19th century, turkeys were completely eradicated in many parts of the northeastern U.S.
Wild turkeys have since been re-introduced to many of these areas, and also to locations in the west where they hadn’t occurred naturally in the recent past.
The native turkey population will probably never reach its original size, but the recovery that has taken place in less than a century is still truly amazing.
This and a similarly successful restoration of the deer population can be attributed to a variety of conservation policies aimed at protecting populations and preserving habitat.
The political and financial support of these efforts provided by members of hunting clubs and nonprofit organizations cannot be overstated.
The wild turkey nearly became the national bird of the U.S., losing by one vote in a hotly-contested congressional ballot.
Benjamin Franklin was really upset by this since he thought turkeys far more respectable than bald eagles, which he considered lazy and cowardly. It doesn’t matter so much to us.
But we certainly share his admiration of the American turkey, and we’re thankful this Thanksgiving season to be able to see them so often.
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