Town terrorized by vicious gang of turkeys – National & International News – Thanksgiving Day THU 24Nov2022

If your town hasn’t been taken over by a gang of belligerent wild turkeys, you have one more thing to be thankful for today!

NATIONAL NEWS

Town terrorized by vicious gang of turkeys

The town of Woburn, MA, near Boston, has found itself at the mercy of a gang of winged interlopers. The ringleader, known locally as “Kevin”, leads a harem of four ladies. Resident Meaghan Tolson describes the turkeys’ reign of terror. “They don’t let you out of your house,” she said. “They peck at cars, they stop traffic, they go after kids on bikes. If you’re walking or jogging, or anything like that, they come for you.”

The fearsome fivesome mostly hang out near Tolson’s yard. “Some days it is frustrating. I’ll be like: ‘Oh my God, there’s an Amazon package’ and I can’t go get it, because the turkeys are there”. But Tolson’s neighbors have had to adjust as well. “A lot of people will leave brooms or rakes at their front door so that they can get them out if the turkeys are there”.

To make matters worse, the birds have bulked up in recent months. “These turkeys are, like, Thanksgiving ready,” Tolson said.

Tolson says Kevin is the main troublemaker. She says the gals, “are more mellow and not so territorial. But I think [Kevin] kind of amps them up to get them going to chase people. But they’re never the instigators. When Kevin’s not around they’ll actually just mind their business and walk away from you”.

Kevin and his ladies came to Woburn a couple of years ago. They were docile at first, but became more aggressive as time went on. Massachusetts reintroduced wild turkeys back in the 1970s. Their numbers have since exploded. Now wild turkeys often venture into towns in search of easy meals from trash and bird feeders.

Despite their lack of manners, Tolson has a sneaking affection for the rambunctious rafter (as a group of turkeys is known). “When I don’t see them for a couple of days, I think: ‘Oh, no, someone has run them over’,” she said. “I mean, yeah, they can be a pain sometimes. But, you know, they’re just turkeys.”

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