The wild turkey — taxonomically speaking
The turkey season is over in Louisiana. So I and other turkey enthusiasts are heading north to different destinations to extend our hunt. Moving north where the seasonal green up and turkey breeding behavior may be several weeks behind ours.
So it seems this is a good time to talk about the wild turkey we hunt as a species. There is one wild turkey species, Meleagris gallopavo. The closest relative is the ocellated turkey of the Yucatan region of Mexico and several northern South American countries. Several subspecies were originally described, based on morphology, that is — how they looked. And those distinctions have mostly held up under scrutiny of modern science. The prototype, M. g. gallopavo, was originally in the vicinity of Mexico City and was domesticated by the Aztecs. Spanish conquistadors carried some of these back to Europe where they became the foundation of domestic turkeys. And later came to the new world with early colonists. This subspecies is now extinct in the wild.
The eastern wild turkey, M. g. silvestre, is what we have in Louisiana. It is adapted for life in humid forests. It has dark tail tips. The subspecies name means wild, or of the woods. It occurs in the eastern United States. into Canada and westerly into eastern Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The Florida wild turkey, M. g. Osceola, was named for the chief of the Seminoles. Genetics research showed they were similar to the eastern. West of the eastern is the Rio Grande wild turkey. Their tail tips are a little lighter, hence the name, M. g. intermedia. Their habitat is more arid than the other subspecies. The wild turkey of the western coniferous forests is M. g. Merriami, named for an early leader in U. S. wildlife conservation. They have white tail tips. Originally they inhabited the higher forested regions of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Goulds wild turkey, the largest subspecies, occupies the western Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico, and their range extends slightly into the corner of New Mexico and Arizona. They resemble the Merriams.
Wild turkeys from these populations have been trapped and moved to suitable habitat in other locations, particularly in the west. So there are mixtures in many areas, often call hybrids.
So what does this wild turkey taxonomic odyssey mean to turkey hunters? Mostly not much. Populations look a little different. They behave a little different, such as movements and the gobble. If you are extending your hunt into different regions just appreciate what we have. Enjoy the extended opportunity as I am. And tell me your story.
Dr. James G. Dickson, Award winning-author, researcher, wildlife biologist and professor. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.org