\u00a0turkeysofumn<\/a>, has more than 6,000 followers. They have a form where people can submit videos of the turkeys and then it gets posted.<\/p>\n\u201cThe turkeys seem very confident they can take us,\u201d said Paige Robinson.<\/p>\n
Robinson started the account in 2020, after seeing the University of Wisconsin \u2013 Madison had a turkey Instagram account. She graduated in 2024 but still runs the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t give it up, I love it so much,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
Robinson said the U of M turkeys like to hang out around Superblock, which is made up of four freshman dorms. She said nothing seems to scare them except for one thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will say someone today sent me a video of one of the food delivery robots on the sidewalk scaring the hell out of the turkeys, so new thing for them to adapt to I guess,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
The turkeys have adapted to Minnesota better than you might think. They were reintroduced to the state in the 1970s and have travelled far.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point they\u2019ve been seen in every county in the state, so they\u2019ve moved all across the state in that time,\u201d said Roy Churchwell, resident game bird consultant at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n
It might be surprising the wild turkeys like to hang out in urban areas, but Churchwell said they go where there\u2019s food.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do get used to their surroundings, so the turkeys that live on campus are used to people walking by and after a while they just get to a point where it doesn\u2019t bother them,\u201d Churchwell said.<\/p>\n
Robert Blair, a professor in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology at the University of Minnesota, said seeing turkeys used to be quite the sight.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long, long time it was very like \u2018oh, I saw a turkey\u2019\u2026 and now I\u2019ve got them nesting on my woodpile in my backyard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Blair said no one has really studied why they seem to have no fear. He said there\u2019s been little research on why birds move into urban areas, but researchers think size might be a factor. He said big birds manage well in the cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean they just parade around,\u201d Blair said. \u201cI think they\u2019re testing out what they can do actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there aren\u2019t a lot of predators that would hunt them in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not susceptible to being eaten or killed in urban areas, and so we\u2019re getting lots of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For the most part, wild turkeys and humans live in harmony, but every now and again one can get aggressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had friend that one time she came back from a business final, and a turkey chased her all the way back to the dorm,\u201d said Tuba, a U of M student. \u201cThey\u2019ve been peaceful with me. They haven\u2019t chased me around yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her friend Eesha said \u201cI have never had such an encounter. They have been very peaceful every time I come across them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Churchwell said it\u2019s best to act aggressively if a turkey is being aggressive toward you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best [thing] is for everyone to be aggressive toward turkeys and not let them intimidate [you],\u201d Churchwell said.<\/p>\n
He said you can also chase them off with a broom or, in the summer, use a water hose.<\/p>\n
Churchwell said it\u2019s important for people not to feed them as well, so they can stay wild animals. He said if you notice turkeys have been hanging around your bird feeder, it\u2019s best to take it down for a couple of weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n