How 17 wild turkeys took over Vermont | BBC Global

[@AIvey-qs1so]

Love this story! Turkeys are more agile and intelligent than most people realize, especially the wild ones. They belong there, glad at least they rebounded

[@Mole204]

Vermonter here who just turned 60. When I was a child we never saw turkeys. Now I see them just about every day. This is an incredible success story. Thank you.

[@crowznest438]

A success story for turkeys; not so much for whippoorwills, quail, grouse who nested on the ground and whose eggs got eaten by these voracious turkeys. Hearing a drumming grouse off in the distance is no more, or the 'bob white' or sound of a whippoorwill at night. It's sad.

[@PatG-xd8qn]

​​@@crowznest438 I'd add to your comment that these wild turkeys are now found in places where they weren't naturally and are now invasive species in these locationd as they have no predators Here in Québec, we now find wild turkeys even north of the Saint-Lawrence river while this bird never lived here naturally

[@crowznest438]

@@PatG-xd8qn Interesting point..

[@jackasdasd5143]

@@crowznest438 That's a myth. Turkeys don't eat quail eggs. Quail are declining due to prairies and grasslands declining because there's no more wildfires keeping them from becoming a closed canopy forest.

[@jackwalker9492]

LOL, I am a Vermonter living abroad, just turned 60 and exactly what you said!

[@granitegobbler95]

As an avid hunter from New Hampshire, it is crucial to understand what conservation and restoration programs have done to bring back one of North America’s native birds back to in the wild!!

[@forkoffgoogle]

I grew up in New England and can remember when it was rare to see a wild turkey, now it's a common occurrence to have them stopping traffic to cross a road, it's good to have them back.

[@mainemagic4968]

Funny thing about VT's Wild Turkey Program...It happened in an apple orchard that, when I was young, the owner raised White Domestic Turkeys in an older tractor barn. These Wild Turkey polts were kept in the same old barn that Mr H. grew out his big white turkeys and the State leased the orchard. Mr H had turkeys to reduce the insects affecting his apple produce and everyone in the city loved to drive up to the orchard, buy some apples and cidar Mr H would offer the customers. This was in Rutland County Vermont late 50's and early 60's...today the Vermont State is still leasing the orchard but the birds growing out are Pheasent & Rough Grouse.

[@druidsongevergreens]

Thank you 🙏🏻 biologists

[@nekbiodieselworks]

This is really neat. I remember seeing my first wild turkey up in Island pond Vermont. It was 1991 and I was in the thick woods behind my house with my brothers. We were just boys at the time. And through the trees we saw a strange bird with a long neck, we had no idea what we were seeing. We tried to get closer but it just kept going deeper into the woods. Now I am happy to see them everywhere.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Same here in Ct. By the early 20th century Wild Turkeys had been hunted to extinction. Then, in 1972, the State DEP released 24 Turkeys in the NW part of the State. Now, we're knee deep in Turkeys. Turkeys everywhere.

[@brokendad2222]

In the 1960s, the Oklahoma Wildlfe Dept traded trapped Oklahoma deer for turkeys from Colorado I believe. Now I at least hear turkeys almost every day. Smart, agile almost our National bird.

[@geoffreylee5199]

Worked for Ontario Natural Resources when turkeys were reintroduced wild turkey to the province in early 1980s. They have overtaken most of the southern part, and creeping northward in their dispersal.

[@billgoin4004]

My cousin did the same thing in Kansas in the 1980's

[@MartinReiter143]

Turkeys were also reintroduced into Massachusetts around the same time.

[@beaurex4756]

A flock of ~8 turkeys walked across my lawn yesterday.

[@vikingblood0408]

I have up to 30 wild turkeys on my property. Feed them corn kernels twice a day. Beautiful birds and they eat the insects like ticks, etc..

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

The native american people never killed or ate turkey. It was TABOO. They kept them around with corn just like you for the same reasons plus they loved to collect their feathers when they moulted. Those days are over now. They all eat them.

[@morrismonet3554]

@@inharmonywithearth9982 Nonsense.

[@daveadams8005]

@@inharmonywithearth9982sources please.

[@baddnurse5443]

⁠@@inharmonywithearth9982you are factually incorrect,

[@willieclark2256]

@@inharmonywithearth9982any time a white person starts a sentence with ‘THE Native American people…’ you know you’re about to hear some bs

[@martyhanson1179]

You and your friend are leaving a good legacy

[@boxofmoles4057]

Thank you, New York State.

[@louisegogel7973]

Thank you!

[@joymcguire]

nice story!

[@silliaek]

I had no idea there was a concerted effort to bring back turkeys. Did the turkeys that now live in Massachusetts and connecticut spread from vermont and New york, or were there introductions there, too?

[@morrismonet3554]

New York turkeys were reintroduced from captured flocks from PA.

[@dougjenks6954]

Saw them 30 years ago in Maine!

[@devmeistersuperprecision4155]

This is very fun and funny. I am new to Vermont. In CO we had no turkeys. I got some eastern wilds from a hatchery and raised them. Wildlife said oxygen levels were too low at altitude for eggs to hatch. But I had a half dozen nests that hatched out. My big gobbler Clinton, named after president Clinton, escaped. Six hens escaped too. Now 20 years later, we are overwhelmed by them. Tourists love to see them and tourists bring much needed revenue. The return of turkeys has been a lucrative and valuable success story.

[@dodoxasaurus6904]

They pardoned those turkeys to Vermont

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Hard to believe turkey's could be wiped out, I went out to let the dogs go potty this Thanksgiving afternoon and there were a dozen turkey's in the yard.

[@lazygardens]

Habitat destruction and over-hunting.

[@morrismonet3554]

@@lazygardens Mostly loss of nesting and brooding sites due to conversion to farmland.

[@herbrothersoutdoors501]

Awesome recovery story, similar to Minnesota

[@dmk1529]

In spots of Minnesota they are over populated. At times we see flocks of 200 or more.

[@danmc7815]

I live within 20 miles of Vermont, in New Hampshire. We got plenty. But, I come from Connecticut very close to NYC (under 35 miles to Manhattan). As a child, I never saw a wild turkey. Since the 1990s, the turkeys in that area of Connecticut have been plentiful. The birds adapted, as the old farms became residential areas with some woods, and most people stopped hunting.

[@mysteriousmountains]

Should do a story on the ceremonial stone landscapes of Vermont, created by the Abenaki people before European contact.

[@familytabrizi76]

You are a good person ❤.

[@brocknspectre1221]

Yes, Vermonter here. Like everyone else, I never saw turkey when I was growing up here, put now there are large flocks that range through the center of town. I never saw moose either when I was growing up, then they became common and now I fear for their population as they deal with a host of problems, especially tick born diseases. I hope someday we’ll be watching a video about the success of moose. I love our Bullwinkles.

[@vicbanks9079]

Happy news for Mother Nature! From about 34 birds in 1969 to near 50,000 today, that's pretty darn good return on investment, lol! Congrats to Vermont and New York state wildlife folks.

[@alecmcmorris2653]

Great story! I see their descendants from time to time. 😊

[@WoodisGood82]

Thank you for your efforts. I see turkeys almost daily in New England and its because of folks like you.

[@ghostmantagshome-er6pb]

Turkeys have made a real comeback where I live ,but all the pheasants disappeared 40 years ago.

[@Somatom_Man]

That's what I enjoy, short and to the point. Others might have given the complete history of Vermont and Turkeys extending the video to 42 minutes. Thank you.

[@crowznest438]

The local farm vet said that reintroducing turkeys would kill the whippoorwills in our mountains. Turns out he was right. Beware the unintended consequences.

[@BrucePoole-z2n]

Turkeys are native so it should balance out

[@crowznest438]

@@BrucePoole-z2n Too late for most of the ground nesting birds. There aren't any to balance out. Nice idea though.

[@BrucePoole-z2n]

@ how did it work before turkeys were hunted out?

[@crowznest438]

@@BrucePoole-z2n I have wondered but figure that they were hunted enough back in the day so numbers were kept reasonably balanced. Now there are more people who watch them and feed through the winter than hunters so I suppose the numbers went off before the other birds could be saved.

[@garvdarb]

You should see the Turkeys in Ontario that we received in trade for moose from the Great State of Michigan !

[@briand2614]

As a kid growing up in Southern Ontario in the 60’s and 70’s I didn’t know what a Wild Turkey was. To be fare there weren’t that many deer either, now it seems they are everywhere. Other wildlife that has returned or shown up over those past 40 or 50 years(some not necessarily welcomed), are Cormorants, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Beaver, Opossum, and Pelicans.

[@gaius_enceladus]

This reminds me of the WKRP episode "Turkey Drop" - hilarious!

[@nategwinn9058]

This is a testament to wildlife biologists then and now. They work at dangerous jobs for little pay. They do it because they love wildlife, and as a public service.

[@davidg3944]

Delightful and ecologically impactful story - thanks for brings it to YT!

[@BangerFleet]

This explains why all the turkeys are all jaywalking jerks! They’re from NY!

[@willieclark2256]

😂

[@DougLyons-d8t]

It’s not just turkeys. I see bald eagles, osprey and mergansers in our river valleys all the time. And of course, turkeys.

[@dennisst.pierre210]

Same thing in RI back in the early 80’s

[@IncogNito-gg6uh]

Turkeys made a big comeback in Missouri, but are being threatened in some areas by corporate farming.

[@BrucePoole-z2n]

Infustrial farming is destroying our wildlife

[@jd5997]

Basically the same thing happened in Wisconsin. They were functionally extinct and reintroduced.

[@elizabethw1142]

You crazy Brits! Going to NY to get the turkeys and you show us Manhattan - you guys! New York state has tons of wilderness. In fact, the Adirondack Park is the largest in the US with over 6 million acres. We have a lot of space for turkeys! Living just north of the Adirondack Park, our neck of NY is so rural. We have turkeys, deer, coyotes, wolves and bear that we see on a regular basis. And moose, too!

[@libertyvilleguy2903]

Nice success story.

[@felixmanuel4527]

They are probaly the old relative of the Wolf Turkey in Quebec.

[@Mrmidknight-yx9pg]

Crazy how recently turkey were an endangered species

[@coolstufff]

how do 30 people dislike this video...

[@G.W.Harrison]

Ontario traded Michigan moose for wild turkeys.

[@osmanahmed8615]

We have the best conservation system in the world the turkey population is also growing further southern Ontario

[@ezzye5]

1969? Nice

[@DeathByGelato]

Traded ruffed grouse for turkeys 😩

[@jameshallahan4376]

I no longer see pheasants, suburbs of Boston, ma - not native, I think from China, but beautiful

[@jeffkiesner9971]

❤

[@twostep1953]

Shows what happens when all the natural predators were also gone.

[@350mack]

Now they eat everything and we're being overwhelmed with these pests. There is to many now while our deer herd plummets. The birds are a huge problem

[@roughtown]

The people cut the forests down in the 1800s to make pasture for a type high dollar sheep wool that sold well here and abroad. More KZbin info from KZbin videos.

[@MegaJackpinesavage]

Why does BBC have a photo of Ed Gein, the infamous killer & graverobber, as its thumbnail?

[@gene8172]

I thought this was going to be about the liquor…

[@kennethclark-qm6vo]

IMHO they ate all the ruffled grouse nests and chicks same as NH

[@legitbeans9078]

Thats some jive ass 🇹🇷

[@aresee8208]

I don't know why this annoys me, but it does. When he said "we went to the State of New York to trap wild turkeys," you showed a clip of Manhattan. That's like someone saying, "we went to the UK to spot the Loch Ness monster," while showing a clip of London. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@HoulieMon]

Vermont owes their "DOE" herd to 200 Alabama deer that were brought in because of the lack of deer in the state ! Vermont has always had a problem managing it's deer herd ! And still does today !