A Thanksgiving Guest Who Really Doesn’t Want to Be There

Uniquely American, the holiday of Thanksgiving has been celebrated since before the establishment of the country. On Thursday of this week, it is a day when families gather and express their appreciation for the bountiful resources provided.

As with most family gatherings, food is involved. Traditionally, turkey is the centerpiece of the day’s culinary extravagance.

Contemporary supermarkets have freezer cases packed with plump specimens ready to be baked, smoked or fried.

There was a time several generations back when this main dish was procured from the wild and processed under the nearest tree. In the good old days, everyone enjoyed fresh, as opposed to frozen and shipped, turkey.

Turkey hens forage in the fields and forests of north Florida. Ever wary of threats, any potential hazard is closely monitored by every member of the flock.

To this day the Eastern Wild Turkey is hunted in panhandle Florida and much of the eastern United States. The bird’s range extends from Florida to southern Canada.

This is the same turkey species Squanto of the Patuxet tribe used to help the pilgrims survive both their ineptitude and the wilderness perils of 1621. Thanksgiving was established with the turkey as the perennial guest of honor, albeit involuntarily.

The Eastern Wild Turkey’s popularity almost proved to be its downfall. Pressure from hunting and habitat destruction reduced these turkeys to dangerously low numbers with the threat of extinction looming by the early 20^th century.

Strenuous game management and hunting regulations eventually alleviated much of the pressure put on the population by culinary overkill. The turkey once again became a holiday favorite and hunting objective, but not as ardently pursued as in decades past.

Life in the 21^st century has changed the location of turkey hunting excursions from the woods to the supermarket meat case. Domestic turkey production is concentrated, for the most part, in states known for producing large volumes of feed grains.

Curiously, the commercially produced domestic turkeys are not descendants of the Eastern Wild Turkey population in north Florida’s woods. These gobblers and hens trace their lineage back to southern Mexico and the Aztec Empire.

Enterprising Spanish conquistadores took these birds back to Europe during the 16th century along with the gold, silver and other booty. If the food supplies ran out or spoiled during the return voyage to Spain, turkey was served shipboard.

In the decades following, propagation of the domesticated turkeys reached France, Britain and other European countries and provinces.

The tasty birds were a prized novelty on the estates of royalty and the landed gentry. The lucky aristocratic diners enjoyed the plumage, as well as the culinary aspects of the turkey.

Ultimately, European turkey producers were successful enough to export the live birds back to the North American colonies to feed those who did not have the time, skill or inclination to hunt the Eastern Wild Turkey.

The human population is not alone in its enjoyment of turkey as a main dish. Many native omnivores enjoy the turkey’s eggs and poults.

Additionally, larger carnivores will prey on adult turkeys, except for the mature males or toms. They are equipped with several effective defensive tools, and the disposition to effectively apply them.

Eastern Wild Turkeys do not migrate, so they remain in the area all year. Depending on availability, they feed on berries, acorns, seeds and occasionally small reptiles.

Unlike the pilgrims of 1621, this bird has no problem living with its untamed environment. No doubt it is thankful that Thanksgiving comes only once a year.