An ongoing feud between wild turkeys and mail service workers in a Sacramento County neighborhood turned deadly last week when a postal carrier killed a large fowl while on duty. The attack is under investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Beginning in October, a group of wild turkeys regularly harassed postal carriers in a neighborhood in Arden-Arcave near Morse Avenue and Creekside Lane, according to Patrick Foy, captain in the department's law enforcement division.
The reports quieted down in the months since, and officials hoped the situation had resolved itself, until reports surfaced on Feb. 28 of an aggressive wild turkey attacking a United State Postal Service mail carrier while on duty in the area. According to Foy, the mailman allegedly "smacked" the turkey with a stick or club he had in his vehicle, killing the animal.
The attack is now under investigation by the department, though Foy declined to say what the possible violations are.
Foy and other department personnel have personally witnessed some of the attacks happen, both when they started in October and when they reemerged last week.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the aggressions is that the pack of turkeys appear to specifically only target mail carriers.
"I watched elderly women walk their dogs. I watched a guy in a wheelchair. I watched someone jog. No one else seems to be the target of these aggressive turkeys, just the mail carriers," Foy told KCBS Radio. "In fact I tried to get close to the turkeys, and I couldn’t even come close to them."
Furthermore, Foy said that turkey attacks are rare and when they do occur, usually happen in April during mating season, which makes the recent attacks more peculiar, especially the ones reported last fall.
The department's investigation has revealed that some residents at two different locations in the area have been "actively feeding the turkeys huge amounts of food" which Foy said will "significantly contribute to the problem." He said the turkey which was killed last week was the largest turkey he'd ever seen.
"We are currently launching a thorough investigation of the incident," the USPS said in an emailed statement to KCBS Radio. "Our employees have had several altercations with aggressive turkeys in the area, including a recent attack on a letter carrier."
"We have been working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to mitigate the issue. However, this allegation is alarming, and if true, is inexcusable and does not reflect the efforts of our more than 650,000 employees who faithfully serve and deliver for America every day."
Foy added that it's reasonable to assume that it's the same group of turkeys regularly attacking the mail carriers, though the department can't confirm that. The mail carriers have allegedly deployed pepper spray, swung their mail bags and unleashed kicks to defend themselves against the birds, but the problem has persisted.
Wildlife management continues to discuss possible solutions towards removing the turkeys from the area to prevent the attacks from continuing.
"Even as I was standing there watching these turkeys trying to attack the mail carrier, we had people coming out of their houses and half of them wanted the mail carrier arrested and fired and the other half were infuriated that this has gone as long as it has and they wanted us to get rid of all the turkeys,” Foy said. "This is the classic polarization of an issue and we’re in the middle of it trying to do our job and be responsive to the public… trying to make life better to exist between our wildlife and people."
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