Minnesota has more than 70,000 wild turkeys, including a substantial number of urban turkeys. They live here in Saint Paul (and Minneapolis), where their traffic-stopping ways are well known. I just learned they even have an Instagram account at the University of Minnesota.
A few weeks ago, Minnesota Public Radio informed me that the wild turkey population of Minnesota was extirpated back in the 19th century and was only reintroduced in the 1970s from just 29 birds, which were brought from Kansas. They were released in Houston County in the southeastern part of the state.
These thousands and thousands of turkeys are the descendants of fewer than 30 individuals. Talk about a genetic bottleneck.
According to the Minnesota DNR, we're not supposed to feed turkeys (so keep track of what falls off your bird feeder), and if a turkey is aggressive toward you, be aggressive back.
A teenaged turkey gang at a neighbor's house, 2012.
A different teenaged turkey gang in a neighbor's yard, 2021.
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