Wild Turkey Animal Information
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) - Don’t scratch that itch or move that cramped leg, he’s watching, listening and as almost having a sixth sense. He somehow knows your there and he’s ready to run. As if having excellent vision (with a 300 degree radius) wasn’t enough, the Wild Turkey also has acute hearing and is extremely wary. Making him the second most sought after game animal in North America, behind the Whitetail Deer. Like the eagle, the Turkey has made a storybook comeback from the Brink of extinction. In the 1930s, only 30,000 survived. Today, there is nearly 6.5 million with their numbers growing steadily due to sound game management. There are five Wild Turkey subspecies. They are the Eastern, Merriam’s, Rio Grande, Florida, and the Gould’s. Young males are called Jakes and young females are Jenny’s. The male turkey, or tom, can stand four feet high and weigh up to 30 pounds. While the female, or hen, weighs half that.
