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Turkeys turn ugly in North Dakota town
Associated Press — March 5, 2003
ROCKLAKE, N.D. — This is a town besieged by turkeys.
The birds were raised on a Rocklake farm but left to fend for themselves when the family left, said Towner County Deputy Jerry Martin. In the summer, the birds hang out in the wild, but winter finds them in the town of about 150 people, where they eat at bird feeders and look for scraps from residents.
Martin said he had to rescue a woman who was trapped in her car after a group of turkeys stopped her from getting out.
"I had to chase them away with a broom," Martin said.
Officials said wild turkeys also have created problems in the towns of Minot and Wahpeton, and eventually will be trapped and moved to the wild.
"The trouble comes when someone who likes seeing them starts putting out food for them," said Greg Link, an assistant Game and Fish Department wildlife chief. "Any wildlife that hangs around people isn't a good situation."
Towner County Sheriff Vaughn Klier was asked what happened to one of the more belligerent turkeys after he threatened in a newspaper column to have "a meeting at high noon" with the bird. The sheriff said he would "have to plead the Fifth."
Klier moved back to the area three years ago after a 22-year law enforcement career in Oregon.
"I went up against really bad guys in Oregon, but they didn't tell me I had to go against turkeys," Klier said. "Things can get dangerous in Towner County."
Associated Press — March 5, 2003
ROCKLAKE, N.D. — This is a town besieged by turkeys.
The birds were raised on a Rocklake farm but left to fend for themselves when the family left, said Towner County Deputy Jerry Martin. In the summer, the birds hang out in the wild, but winter finds them in the town of about 150 people, where they eat at bird feeders and look for scraps from residents.
Martin said he had to rescue a woman who was trapped in her car after a group of turkeys stopped her from getting out.
"I had to chase them away with a broom," Martin said.
Officials said wild turkeys also have created problems in the towns of Minot and Wahpeton, and eventually will be trapped and moved to the wild.
"The trouble comes when someone who likes seeing them starts putting out food for them," said Greg Link, an assistant Game and Fish Department wildlife chief. "Any wildlife that hangs around people isn't a good situation."
Towner County Sheriff Vaughn Klier was asked what happened to one of the more belligerent turkeys after he threatened in a newspaper column to have "a meeting at high noon" with the bird. The sheriff said he would "have to plead the Fifth."
Klier moved back to the area three years ago after a 22-year law enforcement career in Oregon.
"I went up against really bad guys in Oregon, but they didn't tell me I had to go against turkeys," Klier said. "Things can get dangerous in Towner County."
