Wild Turkeys: Radio Telemetry in the Twin Cities

Abstract

Wild turkeys have made a dramatic comeback since they were extirpated from Minnesota in the late 1800’s from unregulated hunting practices, and were successfully reintroduced in 1970 to most regions of the state. As turkeys continue to expand their ranges into suburban areas, management techniques are becoming increasingly difficult due to close proximity to humans. Residents in cities surrounding Minneapolis are seeing an increase in turkey density year after year, and many homeowners are issuing complaints about property damage and nuisance activities exhibited by the large birds. Because the turkeys are within city limits, they can only be removed by professionals through expensive trapping methods. My project is currently analyzing urban home range and habitat use of wild turkeys by using radio telemetry on turkeys in Shoreview and Lake Elmo. By understanding how these turkeys are using fragmented urban habitats , managers can mitigate future tension between residents and turkeys, which not only represent a large value to biodiversity in Minnesota, but a large source of income to the state ($47 million annually).