On a trail in Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia district, a guy recorded a wild turkey chasing and attacking him and another woman.
DeDe Folarin, a member of the D.C. go-go band Rare Essence, rides her bike near Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. However, a recent hiking excursion was unlike any other he'd taken before.Just as I'm riding along the lane, this massive turkey rushes up and almost claws my face. "It pushed me off my bike and then chased me around for about five minutes," Folarin explained.
The turkey then pursued a nearby woman, according to Folarin, who attempted to flee with her bicycle. The encounter was videotaped by Folarin.
"I hung up the phone and grabbed the biggest twig I could find, whacking the bird twice," Folarin recalled. The turkey finally came to a halt in front of a shrub.
Folarin claims that he and the woman had been asked numerous times why they didn't just flee.
"They have a reputation for being abrasive." He explained, "They're quite fast, and you've never been assaulted by a turkey before."
Since November, wild turkeys have been spotted along the trail.
"In D.C. and the adjacent areas, there's actually a pretty healthy turkey population," said Dan Rauch, a fisheries and wildlife biologist for the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). "Here in the District, there are at least a hundred, possibly two."
Wild turkeys are not all friendly, however.
The turkey that assaulted Folarin, according to Rauch, is the same turkey that has been seen by many persons from Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., to Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Maryland.
According to him, the DOEE attempted to capture the bird.
"I've been out there looking for it and using different turkey calls, calls with males or females, trying to entice it in so that I can trap that bird," Rauch said.
"Because it's a male, it's a rather massive turkey, and when people see it, it'll drop its wings and pop off to show off."
The DOEE intends to capture the bird and have it evaluated by a veterinarian before releasing it into a neighboring wildlife refuge.
Until then, Rauch advises people to be cautious and report any sightings of the turkey to animal control.
"I'd attempt to back up and go away if this turkey approaches you," he advised. "It's a colossal bird," says the narrator. Spurs are present. "They have the ability to fly as well as run."
Begin the discussion.
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