History of the Wild - PDF document

1 14-1 History of the Wild Turkey in North
14-1 History of the Wild Turkey in NorthKennamer, Ron BrennemanATIONALEDERATION he wild turkey, native to theNorth American continent, wasthe largest ground–nesting birdfound by the first European immi-until the 1960s that the restoration ofpushed westward and felled forestswith the axe and saw. Wild turkeyAs forest stands regenerated fol-lowing the Great Depression, thestage was set for the return of thewild turkey to former ranges. AfterWorld War II, active restoration pro-grams and research efforts by stateexcept Alaska. In 1991, spring wildturkey hunting seasons were for theSpring hunting seasons are also heldprovinces as well as in Mexico. The Europeans were familiarthen their explorers found a NewWorld bird similar to, but not exactlylike, what they were used to seeing.Those early explorers often wrote ofbirds. Their descriptions thoughwere later determined to be of a newbird soon known as the wild turkey.Even Linnaeus, who proposed the1758, used names reminiscent of themeans “guinea fowl,” fromthe ancient Greco–Romans. The“peafowl” of Asia (descriptions, however, seem to beEuropeans. He also described aMexican subspecies from a specimentaken at Mirador, Veracruz, butwhich is probably extinct today. Forests were severely cut by the early settlers for building needs and for cooking fires and warmth. Wild animalspecies which had inhabited the forests were displaced or disappeared. ERVICE 14-2 America but in different habitatareas.) inhabits roughly the east-named by L.J.P. Vieillot in 18

2 17 usingthe word silvestris, meaning “fo
17 usingthe word silvestris, meaning “forest”turkey.W.E.D. Scott and was named for thea war beginning in 1835. This bird isa resident of the southern half of) of the mountain regionsnamed by Dr. E.W. Nelson in 1900 inof the U.S. Biological Survey. Mexico was described by George B.Grande turkey differed from theThe fifth recognized subspeciesparts of southern Arizona and Newrently numbers several hundredmore numerous south of the border,1856 during his travels in Mexico. AMexico is now probably extinct. It isthe accepted forerunner to thedomestic turkey taken home fromMexico by the Spanish conquerors in) is a different species, occurring onthe Yucatan Peninsula of southeast-bronze–green iridescence, longspurs, but no beard. The primarywing feathers are edged in white.The gray tail feathers are tipped witha blue–bronze hue, and there are America. It inhabits roughly the eastern 14-3 round, pinkish growths. Instead of ISTORYWhen European settlers arrivedon the eastern seaboard, wildturkeys apparently lived in what areCanadian province of Ontario. TheNative American cultures and has anturkey for a fact the piece de resis-Franklin to be the symbol represent-nation’s seal when proposals were1780s. Apparently that wasn’t so.was composed of Thomas Jefferson,Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.The committee could not reachagreement on a symbol, but a wildBy 1782 a third “seal committee”rejected Philadelphia artist WilliamEagle” of Europe. Subsequently, theeagle, also native to North America,which was

3 adopted by CongressJune 20, 1782, as th
adopted by CongressJune 20, 1782, as the symbol to repre-Franklin apparently grew tiredwhich shortly thereafter came to beused by a number of groups. In aletter to his daughter, Sarah Bache, in1784, he noted that the “Order ofCincinnatus” had produced a badgemore like a turkey than an eagle.points of the turkey but never recom-mended the turkey for the Americanments that the turkey was more Wild turkey was most likely part of the “fowl” servedin 1621. However, it did not become a traditional part measures. Vast virgin forests were being steadilycleared, and wild turkeys were among wildlifehunted year-round. These were only 2 of theactivities involved in providing necessities forthe rapidly growing number of colonists. ERVICE 14-4 respectable than the eagle and a trueofficial seal design had been selected. EMISEOFOPULATIONSgrow, the wild turkey populationsquickly began to disappear. Wildturkeys were an important source offood for the pioneers and were hunt-ed year– round without the protec-tion of game laws (regulated hunt-passed the first conservation law, lim-lumber. Vast virgin forests werebeing cleared for agriculture and toprovide safety borders for the pio-neer villages from potential attack byNative Americans. With the turkey’sand under the relentless pressurefrom market hunters to feed thegrowing number of colonists (4 mil-vanishing from much of its originalrange. Exceptions were some isolat-ed and inaccessible areas, mostly inlimited on New York’s Long Islandness, cleared the woodlan

4 ds andpushed westward, fewer wildturkeys
ds andpushed westward, fewer wildturkeys were left behind.by 1813. Vermont held out until 1842the wild turkey was lost from 18 ofESTORATION ARLYECOVERYWild turkey population numbersremained extremely low into theturkeys in the United States probablythe late 1930s according to data col-lected by Henry S. Mosby. “In 1937,the wild turkey was in trouble By 1920, the wild turkey was lost from small farms popped up wherever mancould make a living from the land. Butonce the fields wore out and all theon leaving the land barren. There wereno plans for reforestation. ERVICE 14-5 throughout most of its range. ... Inthe late 1920s and 1930s there was ascarcity of factual information onexisting game bird populations inThe World War I period, and theGreat Depression, which came adecade later, showed little change infarms of the 1930s and the previouslyharvested forest areas began to revertto successional types of shrubs andtrees, suitable habitat was returningof the wild turkey. Conservationpractices slowly improved the land-scape for the future of the wildry––such as the Lacey Act in 1905prohibiting the interstate sale oflaws and their enforcement gaveneeded protection to the remainingnational forests found their begin-eroded gullies and fields devoid ofnation was slowly recovering fromthe Depression until war came againBefore the days of early wildlifeanswered some of the basic ques-tions and ushered in a new era ofresearch and management whenthey co–authored The Wild Turkeyin Virginiament had gained cred

5 ibility with thepublication of Aldo Leop
ibility with thepublication of Aldo Leopold’s 1933ples. The Pittman–Robertson Act ofmoney, when matched with statehunting license dollars, providedfunds to initiate wildlife recoveryprograms. When the GIs returned tothe U.S. workforce, state fish andfederal agencies tackled the difficulttask of restoring wildlife populationsincluding the wild turkey.was how to capture and move birdsfrom existing flocks for release inNative Americans, was the polesides and covered with netting. Atrench was dug under one side of thenel–entrance traps and open–fronttraps, which improved the chancesof capturing birds. Nonetheless,these traps were hard to constructlarge numbers of wild turkeys. the capture of large numbers of wildly designed to capture waterfowl.This capture technique allowed morestates to move wild–trapped birdsinto restored habitats.involved concealing on the ground anet that would be remotely propelledover turkeys by a trapper from asquare openings of 2 inches, pro-be captured using this method wereForest in South Carolina in 1951. 1940s lacked the ability to capture birds effec-tively. ALDONSERVATIONATURAL 14-6 speeded up by use of rocket projec-tiles powered by howitzer powderfrom the U.S. military. The rocketspropelled a nylon–mesh net. In the1960s, sleep–inducing drugs were alsoused to capture live birds.“drop–net” trap used in the prairiestates and felt to be more effectivethan other traps used in more denselywooded areas found in the east. ITFALLrecommendations in the 1940s to arti-fici

6 ally propagate turkeys for restora-tion
ally propagate turkeys for restora-tion were not biologically sound.Game–farm or pen–raised turkeys areraised under human control,” accord-ing to a NWTF Technical Committeeresolution adopted in 1994.Game–farm turkeys are deprived ofnormal parental influence, so theyiors or survival skills, regardless ofnew, many agencies and individualsto mass produce these birds forrelease. This approach was taken as ashortcut around the difficult problemof capturing wild birds, which arecontrol of the laws of nature,” accord-ing to the ’94 resolution.North America for almost 2 decades.Furthermore, this technique usedhave been spent in more wild turkeytrap–and–transplant programs, whichhave proved immensely successful.A1979 turkey restoration surveyof 36 states compared the success ofturkeys and wild–trapped birds.About 30,000 wild–trapped birdsreleased on 968 sites resulted in 808more than 200,000 square miles ofrange. Over 330,000 pen–raised birdsreleased on almost 800 sites resultedin 760 failures. Michigan was the onlystate that reported significant positiveresults with pen–raised stock. Of 882game–farm birds released at 13 sites,however, only 3 releases were success-reported fall hunting was terminatedbecause of overharvest of turkeysThe survey reported 6 states hadproblems with diseases in game–farmbirds. Twenty–three of the 36 stateshad enacted laws banning or restrict-ing the release of game–farm birds. Byeggs, poults, and adults are adver-tised and sold under the pretense thatthey are “truly wild” a

7 nd thereforeThese birds probably fail to
nd thereforeThese birds probably fail to sur-quality resulting from the breedingout of wild characteristics throughseveral generations in captivity. Mostoffspring from first–generation wildbirds cannot survive confinement.They die from stress, trying to escape.relatively docile and are able to toler-reproduce and sustain their popula-tion. But birds carrying the dominantwild are lost under penned condi-Asecond major factor in the poorsuccess of game–farm birds is the The “drop net” trap method, although usedscene from South Dakota shows an “old-fashioned” drop net capture around 1960.Trapped birds were individually bundled 14-7 skills to developing poults. Wild hensteach their poults the proper responseto predators and other dangers, plus agreat deal about food sources, thesocial behavior, such as vocalizationsThe third big problem involvingpen–raised birds is the increase ofeases. An evaluation of the health of119 pen–raised wild turkeys found atrelease of pen–raised turkeys shouldbe discouraged or even prohibited. Wild turkey populations haveincreased substantially across theUnited States since the end of WorldWar II. Trap–and–transplant pro-accelerated this growth since the earlystantially aided the restoration effort.birds and today, there are nearly 7million wild turkeys across NorthAll states but Alaska have hunt-occupied––was habitat loss. Alsoacting negatively in some areas wereillegal kill, lack of brood and winterhabitat, summer droughts, poor mast turkeys under the control of huma

8 ns thenrelease them into the wild. These
ns thenrelease them into the wild. These PennsylvaniaGame Protectors were collecting turkey eggsfrom a wild hen’s nest to raise and propagate theoffspring for use in restoration. The pen-raisedmethod failed and actually slowed the return of PAG The wild turkey has been returned to emptysuitable areas. It’s a marvelous comebackstory. However, the primary limiting factor ERVICE 14-8 production, severe winters,predation, and suspected diseases.Probably no other game bird has had more of an impact on thecombined cultures of the inhabitantsof North America than the wildturkey. The species has directlyand their descendants. Although theareas, populations now occupy moresquare miles of habitat than anyother game bird in North America.The restoration is truly a modernconservation marvel that is a creditconditions, as well as to the greatbird’s ability to respond well toAmore detailed history can befound in The Wild Turkey Biologythe National Wild TurkeyFederation, USDAForest Service The wild turkey has been a direct link between thepast and the present—a credit to the bird’s adapt-ability to varying habitat conditions and it’s abilityto respond well to modern wildlife management.Keeping the future wild turkey populations healthywill provide pictures like this successful youngman’s hunt for generations to come. Financial support for this publication was provided in part by theNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Federal Cartridge and WildlifeForever and published by the National Wild Turkey Federation.