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History of the WildTurkey in North

Americaby James Earl & Mary C.

Kennamer, Ron Brenneman

NWTF WILDLIFE BULLETIN NO.15

NATIONAL WILDTURKEY FEDERATION

The wild turkey, native to theNorth American continent, wasthe largest ground–nesting bird

found by the first European immi-grants. But the abundant numbers ofwild turkey written about in earlyhistorical accounts declined with col-onization until its continued exis-tence was questionable. It wasn’tuntil the 1960s that the restoration ofthe wild turkey was heralded as awildlife management comeback marvel.

Early settlers found the wildturkey in a variety of habitats as theypushed westward and felled forestswith the axe and saw. Wild turkeypopulations dipped to their lowestnumbers between the end of the 19thcentury and the 1930s, survivingonly in the most inaccessible habitats.

As 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 stateagencies eventually led to wildturkey populations in every stateexcept Alaska. In 1991, spring wildturkey hunting seasons were for thefirst time open in every one of the 49

states having turkey populations.Spring hunting seasons are also heldin Ontario and other Canadianprovinces as well as in Mexico.

TERMINOLOGY:The Europeans were familiar

with guinea fowl, and peafowl, butthen their explorers found a NewWorld bird similar to, but not exactlylike, what they were used to seeing.Those early explorers often wrote offinding guinea and peafowl–typebirds. Their descriptions thoughwere later determined to be of a newbird soon known as the wild turkey.Even Linnaeus, who proposed thescientific name Meleagris gallopavo in1758, used names reminiscent of theearlier confusion. The genus nameMeleagris means “guinea fowl,” fromthe ancient Greco–Romans. Thespecies name gallopavo is Latin for“peafowl” of Asia (gallus for cockand pavo for chickenlike). Linnaeus’descriptions, however, seem to bebased primarily on the domesticturkey imported to the U.S. byEuropeans. 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.

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Over the years, 5 distinct sub-species occurring in the wild havebeen named, all native to NorthAmerica but in different habitatareas.

The eastern wild turkey (M. g.silvestris) inhabits roughly the east-ern half of the United States. It wasnamed by L.J.P. Vieillot in 1817 usingthe word silvestris, meaning “forest”turkey.

The Florida wild turkey (M. g.osceola) was described in 1890 byW.E.D. Scott and was named for thefamous Seminole chief, Osceola, wholed his tribe against the white man ina war beginning in 1835. This bird isa resident of the southern half ofFlorida.

The Merriam’s wild turkey (M.g. merriami) of the mountain regionsof the western United States wasnamed by Dr. E.W. Nelson in 1900 inhonor of C. Hart Merriam, first chiefof the U.S. Biological Survey.

The Rio Grande wild turkey(M. g. intermedia) of the south–centralplains states and northeasternMexico was described by George B.Sennett in 1879. He said the RioGrande turkey differed from theother races (eastern and Merriam’s

specifically) by being intermediate;hence its name.

The fifth recognized subspeciesis the Gould’s (M. g. mexicana), whichis found in northwestern Mexico andparts of southern Arizona and NewMexico. This subspecies, which cur-rently numbers several hundredindividuals in the United States andmore numerous south of the border,was first described by J. Gould in1856 during his travels in Mexico. Asixth subspecies (M. g. gallopavo)originally inhabiting southernMexico is now probably extinct. It isthe accepted forerunner to thedomestic turkey taken home fromMexico by the Spanish conquerors inthe 1500s.

The ocellated turkey (M. ocella-ta) is a different species, occurring onthe Yucatan Peninsula of southeast-ern Mexico and possibly in adjacentcountries. In color it is much closerto the peafowl than to its 5 cousins tothe north. Males have abronze–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 arepeacock–like spots on its tail coverts

The eastern wild turkey is the most abun-dant of the 5 subspecies found in NorthAmerica. It inhabits roughly the easternhalf of the United States.

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which its name implies. The bluehead has distinct, randomly spaced,round, pinkish growths. Instead ofmaking the familiar gobbling andclucking sounds of the other sub-species, the ocellated turkey makes awhistling noise.

POST–COLONIAL HISTORY:When European settlers arrived

on the eastern seaboard, wildturkeys apparently lived in what arenow 39 continental states and theCanadian province of Ontario. Thespecies is tied closely with the earlyNative American cultures and has anoften–misunderstood associationwith the history of the United Statesof America.

Contrary to popular belief,Thanksgiving did not become a tra-ditional celebration because of theMassachusetts Pilgrims; nor was theturkey for a fact the piece de resis-tance at the famous 1621 meal. It hasbeen speculated that the turkey didnot become a common adjunct to aThanksgiving dinner until about1800.

It is also often thought the wildturkey was championed by Benjamin

Franklin to be the symbol represent-ing the collective states on thenation’s seal when proposals werebeing discussed in the 1770s and1780s. Apparently that wasn’t so.The first “seal committee,” formedthe same day the Declaration ofIndependence was signed in 1776,was composed of Thomas Jefferson,Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.The committee could not reachagreement on a symbol, but a wildturkey was not one of the options.

By 1782 a third “seal committee”rejected Philadelphia artist WilliamBarton’s design of the “ImperialEagle” of Europe. Subsequently, thedesign was changed to the baldeagle, also native to North America,which was adopted by CongressJune 20, 1782, as the symbol to repre-sent the new nation.

Franklin apparently grew tiredof the variety of bald eagle motifswhich 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.Franklin went on to talk about thebad points of the eagle and the goodpoints of the turkey but never recom-mended the turkey for the Americansymbol. In fact, Franklin’s com-ments that the turkey was more

Wild turkey was most likely part of the “fowl” servedat the most famous Thanksgiving meal at Plymouthin 1621. However, it did not become a traditional partof the Thanksgiving celebration until about 1800.

It took only 5 years for the Plymouth Colonysettlers to see the need for some conservationmeasures. 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.

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respectable than the eagle and a trueoriginal native came 2 years after theofficial seal design had been selected.

DEMISE OF POPULATIONS:As the fledgling nation began to

grow, 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-ing). In 1626 Plymouth Colonypassed the first conservation law, lim-iting the cutting and sale of coloniallumber. Vast virgin forests werebeing cleared for agriculture and toprovide safety borders for the pio-

neer villages from potential attack byNative Americans. With the turkey’shabitat fast dwindling and changing,and under the relentless pressurefrom market hunters to feed thegrowing number of colonists (4 mil-lion by 1790), the wild turkey startedvanishing from much of its originalrange. Exceptions were some isolat-ed and inaccessible areas, mostly inthe southeastern United States. In1706 the hunting season on deer waslimited on New York’s Long Islandbecause continued hunting hadalmost eliminated them. Couldturkeys have been far behind?

As the settlers tamed the wilder-ness, cleared the woodlands andpushed westward, fewer wildturkeys were left behind.Connecticut had lost its wild turkeysby 1813. Vermont held out until 1842and other states followed. By 1920,the wild turkey was lost from 18 ofthe original 39 states and Ontario,Canada, in its supposed ancestralrange.

RESTORATION: EARLY RECOVERY

Wild turkey population numbersremained extremely low into theearly 1900s. The 5 subspecies of wildturkeys in the United States probablydeclined to their lowest numbers inthe 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 from18 of the original 39 states and Ontario,Canada, in its supposed ancestral range.

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As the American population expanded,small farms popped up wherever mancould make a living from the land. Butonce the fields wore out and all theusable timber cut, the farmers movedon leaving the land barren. There wereno plans for reforestation.

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throughout most of its range. ... Inthe late 1920s and 1930s there was ascarcity of factual information onexisting game bird populations inmost states because of a paucity ofboth funds and trained personnel.”The World War I period, and theGreat Depression, which came adecade later, showed little change inexisting populations.

As the small tenant fields andfarms of the 1930s and the previouslyharvested forest areas began to revertto successional types of shrubs andtrees, suitable habitat was returningwhich would support the comebackof the wild turkey. Conservationpractices slowly improved the land-scape for the future of the wildturkey and other wildlife species.Laws enacted early in this centu-ry––such as the Lacey Act in 1905prohibiting the interstate sale oftaken wildlife––along with otherlaws and their enforcement gaveneeded protection to the remainingwild turkey flocks. Many of ournational forests found their begin-nings in lands bought by the federalgovernment––much of it marked byeroded gullies and fields devoid oftopsoil, indicative of overworkedand abandoned farmland. Thenation was slowly recovering fromthe Depression until war came againin 1941.

Before the days of early wildlifemanagement, little was known aboutthe biology of wild turkeys or thefactors that influenced populations.In 1943, Mosby and Charles Handleyanswered some of the basic ques-tions and ushered in a new era ofresearch and management whenthey co–authored The Wild Turkeyin Virginia.

The wildlife management move-ment had gained credibility with thepublication of Aldo Leopold’s 1933book of game management princi-ples. The Pittman–Robertson Act of1937 put an excise tax on sportinggoods and ammunitions. Thatmoney, when matched with statehunting license dollars, providedfunds to initiate wildlife recoveryprograms. When the GIs returned tothe U.S. workforce, state fish andwildlife agencies, universities, andfederal agencies tackled the difficult

task of restoring wildlife populationsincluding the wild turkey.

One of the first major obstacleswas how to capture and move birdsfrom existing flocks for release inother suitable habitats. One earlymethod, which had been used by theNative Americans, was the poletrap––poles stacked 5 to 8 high on 4sides and covered with netting. Atrench was dug under one side of thetrap and the setup was baited withcorn. Modifications included fun-nel–entrance traps and open–fronttraps, which improved the chancesof capturing birds. Nonetheless,these traps were hard to constructand lacked the flexibility to catchlarge numbers of wild turkeys.

What eventually made possiblethe capture of large numbers of wildturkeys was the cannon net, original-ly designed to capture waterfowl.This capture technique allowed morestates to move wild–trapped birdsinto restored habitats.

The cannon–net techniqueinvolved concealing on the ground anet that would be remotely propelledover turkeys by a trapper from anearby blind. The net was a folded30–by 60–foot cloth mesh withsquare openings of 2 inches, pro-pelled by 3 or 4 black–powder can-nons electrically detonated.

The first wild turkeys known tobe captured using this method wereon the Francis Marion NationalForest in South Carolina in 1951.

Adopting a trapping method once used by theNative Americans, wildlife biologists construct-ed pole traps to catch wild turkeys. This primi-tive method used in the late 1930s and early1940s lacked the ability to capture birds effec-tively.

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The cannon–net delivery was laterspeeded 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.

Another experiment was the“drop–net” trap used in the prairiestates and felt to be more effectivethan other traps used in more denselywooded areas found in the east.

PEN–RAISED PITFALL

It is highly important to note thatrecommendations in the 1940s to arti-ficially propagate turkeys for restora-tion were not biologically sound.Game–farm or pen–raised turkeys are“any wild turkey eggs or wild turkeyswhich have been hatched and/orraised under human control,” accord-ing to a NWTF Technical Committeeresolution adopted in 1994.Game–farm turkeys are deprived ofnormal parental influence, so theynever develop normal social behav-iors or survival skills, regardless oftheir genetic wildness.

Although the technique was notnew, many agencies and individualsembraced an idea that seemed logical:to mass produce these birds forrelease. This approach was taken as ashortcut around the difficult problemof capturing wild birds, which are“native genetic stock living under the

control of the laws of nature,” accord-ing to the ’94 resolution.

Using the pen–raised methodslowed the wild turkey comeback inNorth America for almost 2 decades.Furthermore, this technique useduntold millions of dollars that mighthave been spent in more wild turkeytrap–and–transplant programs, whichhave proved immensely successful.

A 1979 turkey restoration surveyof 36 states compared the success ofboth pen–raised (or game–farm)turkeys and wild–trapped birds.About 30,000 wild–trapped birdsreleased on 968 sites resulted in 808established populations occupyingmore 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-ful in Michigan. The survey alsoreported fall hunting was terminatedbecause of overharvest of turkeyswith game–farm origin.

The 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. By1990 the number of states was 45. Inspite of this evidence, today turkeyeggs, poults, and adults are adver-tised and sold under the pretense thatthey are “truly wild” and thereforesuitable for stocking in the wild.

These birds probably fail to sur-vive because of a combination of fac-tors. One cause could be poor geneticquality 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.The few which survive have becomerelatively docile and are able to toler-ate the confined conditions. So theyreproduce and sustain their popula-tion. But birds carrying the dominantcharacteristics needed for life in thewild are lost under penned condi-tions.

A second major factor in the poorsuccess of game–farm birds is theabsence of a wild turkey hen to teach

The “drop net” trap method, although usedin the southeast in the early 1940s, has beenmost effective in the prairie states. Thisscene from South Dakota shows an “old-fashioned” drop net capture around 1960.Trapped birds were individually bundledinto burlap bags to quiet them during handling and transportation.

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skills to developing poults. Wild hensteach their poults the proper responseto predators and other dangers, plus agreat deal about food sources, thegeography of their home ranges, andsocial behavior, such as vocalizationsand flocking. The pen–raised turkeyhas no opportunity to learn theseimportant survival mechanisms.

The third big problem involvingpen–raised birds is the increase ofdeadly diseases and parasites underconfined conditions. The survivorsmay become carriers of infectious dis-eases. An evaluation of the health of119 pen–raised wild turkeys found atleast 33 species of parasites and 3potentially harmful diseases. Basedon an evaluation of disease risks,investigators concluded that therelease of pen–raised turkeys shouldbe discouraged or even prohibited.

SUCCESS:Wild turkey populations have

increased substantially across theUnited States since the end of WorldWar II. Trap–and–transplant pro-grams of state game agencies haveaccelerated this growth since the early1950s. The support of the private sec-tor and state and federal agencies sub-stantially aided the restoration effort.Combined population estimates

nationwide in 1990 showed wildturkey numbers about 3.5 millionbirds and today, there are nearly 7million wild turkeys across NorthAmerica.

All states but Alaska have hunt-able populations.

The primary limitation on wildturkey population levels––besideshaving all suitable rangeoccupied––was habitat loss. Alsoacting negatively in some areas wereillegal kill, lack of brood and winterhabitat, summer droughts, poor mast

Embracing an idea that seemed logical, manystate wildlife agencies attempted to raiseturkeys under the control of humans 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 ofthe wild turkey by about 2 decades.

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The wild turkey has been returned to emptyhabitats and has been expanded into othersuitable areas. It’s a marvelous comebackstory. However, the primary limiting factoron wild turkey populations continues to behabitat loss like this massive cutover void ofsuitable wildlife habitat.

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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 directlyinfluenced the lifestyles of NativeAmericans as well as immigrantsand their descendants. Although thewild turkey once was found only inisolated pockets and inaccessibleareas, populations now occupy moresquare miles of habitat than anyother game bird in North America.The restoration is truly a modernconservation marvel that is a creditto the wild turkey’s adaptability to a variety of climatic and habitatconditions, as well as to the greatbird’s ability to respond well tomodern management.

A more detailed history can befound in The Wild Turkey Biologyand Management edited by J. G.Dickson in 1992 and published bythe National Wild TurkeyFederation, USDA Forest Serviceand Stackpole Books.

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.

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Financial support for this publication was provided in part by theNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Federal Cartridge and Wildlife

Forever and published by the National Wild Turkey Federation.