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Wild Turkey Tom (Bearded)
by budzbunny
Photographer
15 years ago
I took this picture about a year ago at Couchville Lake, Long Hunter State Park, in Mt. Juliet, TN. This is a mature Tom (Male) Wild Turkey (Note the "Beard" growing out of his chest). These birds are HUGE (3 - 4 feet (1 - 1.3meters) tall, and weigh 20 - 30 pounds (10 - 15 kg.) They are a popular game animals and are found EVERYWHERE in LARGE numbers. They are even starting to show up in large cities! MY farm is FULL of these birds!
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Animal related (non-anthro)
Avian (Other)
640 x 379
485.4 kB
Misako
~misako
reminds me of a cassowary :O
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
It's not unusual to see HUGE flocks of Wild Turkey. I counted 98 in one flock! I usually see flocks of from 5 to 20 birds at a time.
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
And this time of year you can get VERY close to them! I took this picture from 15 feet away!
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
That is like a cassowary and may be related!
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
Thanksgiving will be FREE from now on!
Neex
~neex
yummy! Gunna eat some?
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
You betcha!
Neex
~neex
yummm!
Clayton
~clayton
Why do turkeys have those "beards" on their chests?
budzbunny
~budzbunny
OP
I'm not sure. Only Wild Turkeys have beards and then only the males. Hunters like the beards. It is the Wild Turkey equivalent of an antlered buck! I have a 70 acre farm I will be moving to that has over 100 Wild Turkey on it and 20 - 30 deer. I DO hunt and will HAVE to if I want to eat. It is the ONLY way I will be able to afford protein! WILD turkeys are almost TWICE the size of the domesticated turkeys you see in Stores at Thanksgiving and taste EXACTLY the same! I will hunt them with a bow or crossbow. I ALWAYS use silent, short range High Impact weapons, many of them evolved from primitive weapons.
