Environment

Tough Turkeys Are Taking Over A California Town

By Mark Memmott / NPR

Published February 21, 2013 at 9:00 AM PST

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

You talking to me? (A turkey on New York's Staten Island; who's probably just as intimidating, if not more, than those in California.)

So many wild turkeys are roaming the streets and yards of Albany, Calif., along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, that some parents aren't letting their children go out to play.

There's the issue of the birds' droppings. "You can see it's just a mess," parent Renu Bhatt tells KQED about her home's backyard. Just imagine what happens when up to 30 turkeys decide to get together.

And there's the issue of the birds' aggressiveness. CBS SF Bay Area says that's also got some parents' worried.

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The turkeys showed up in Albany around last Thanksgiving. Authorities suspect they're hanging around because someone's been feeding them, and they want that to stop.

You might not think turkeys are intimidating, but check out how cocky (pun intended) they seem in this video.

And if you want to see how scary some folks think turkeys can be, check what happened in October 2011 when Sacramento TV producer Duffy Kelly went to another California town that was having problems with the birds. As this video shows, she freaked out when one turkey wouldn't leave her alone. (Note: there are a few mild curses.)

(H/T to NPR.org's Alan Greenblatt.)