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Has anyone else noticed that the population of wild Turkeys (introduced by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) has been exploding lately? They have been gradually increasing for years, but in the last couple of years I have started to see large (10+) flocks out in the wild, whereas the large flocks previously were located in populated areas where hunting was prohibited.
There are few predators that can take out a Turkey. Bobcats probably can, and under ideal conditions a Fox or Coyote could charge a Turkey and knock it down enough to keep it from flying off. I don't know if a Cougar would see them as prey. They are probably too big for Hawks, and Eagles are rare here.
Probably back East Opossums raided nests and ate the eggs. Around here Possums are pretty rare (being an imported species, themselves) and perhaps Skunks would be the likely substitute.
Something needs to keep them in check, and hunting doesn't seem to be doing that. In the cities, hunting will never be allowed, and "crazy cat lady" types would throw a fit if the Government had them killed as a nuisance.
There are few predators that can take out a Turkey. Bobcats probably can, and under ideal conditions a Fox or Coyote could charge a Turkey and knock it down enough to keep it from flying off. I don't know if a Cougar would see them as prey. They are probably too big for Hawks, and Eagles are rare here.
Probably back East Opossums raided nests and ate the eggs. Around here Possums are pretty rare (being an imported species, themselves) and perhaps Skunks would be the likely substitute.
Something needs to keep them in check, and hunting doesn't seem to be doing that. In the cities, hunting will never be allowed, and "crazy cat lady" types would throw a fit if the Government had them killed as a nuisance.
if I remember correctly, game populations went way down during the Great Depression era simply because people were starving and because of the Dust Bowl, so people took to poaching pretty much everything except each other, and that was a large reason populations of certain animals went to near extinct if not outright extinction (Passenger Pigeon for one)
