MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and NASA are all working together to battle a common enemy: turkeys.
Up to two dozen turkeys have lived on the property of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, KPIX reported.
“It’s a little bit of a unique situation,” Ken Paglia, spokesperson for California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told KPIX. “NASA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to relocate these turkeys, and Fish and Wildlife is providing the release site.”
Though the turkeys have been on the property for years, the animals have become more aggressive over the last several months, damaging cars and landscaping, and coming near Moffett Field, KPIX reported.
“Male turkeys during mating season can be a bit aggressive. They can kind of charge after people sometimes,” Paglia told KGO. “Turkeys are quick. They’re more agile than you think they would be. And they’re smarter than you think they’d be too. They’re not easy to trap.”
The turkeys will be lured into a walk-in trap with bait. Once trapped, they’ll be tested for disease, banded and then placed in boxes to transport them safely, KPIX reported.
Paglia told KGO the blood testing is just a safety precaution and there is no reason to believe the birds are sick.
The turkey problem may have been exacerbated by people who work at Ames, who reportedly feed the animals, despite a “no feeding” policy on the campus, SFGate reported.
The plan is to relocate the turkeys to the San Antonio Valley Ecological Reserve in Santa Clara County, KPIX reported.
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