LONGWOOD, Fla. — Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are investigating reports of turkeys attacking people in the Longwood neighborhood.
The turkeys have been reported in the Wingfield Reserve community in Longwood.
A wildlife trapper told FWC that two wild turkeys have attacked cars, and wanted to know what legal options exist to address the turkeys, investigators said. Residents told Channel 9's Angela Jacobs that turkeys have been in the neighborhood for months, and now, incidents are happening on almost a daily basis.
Wildlife sightings are the norm in the neighborhood.
"Bears, deer -- there's usually a lot of turkeys, but not normally ones that come up to your car and start pecking your car," resident Kristen Haynes said.
"They're mean, and it's just very unusual behavior that I didn't even know existed," resident Katie Justice said.
Wildlife experts told Eyewitness News that, around mating season, the territorial males are attracted to shiny surfaces. When a male turkey spots its own reflection on the side of the car, it thinks that it is seeing a competitor and it attacks.
FWC said that turkeys are not considered "nuisance wildlife" under the nuisance wildlife rule. They are game species so they cannot be taken outside of designated legal hunting seasons using legal methods with hunting licenses, etc.
Until hunting season begins in March, FWC told the trapper to advise people to make noises to scare the turkeys away.
Watch below of turkeys roaming Longwood neighborhood:
On @WFTV Run!! @MyFWC looking into how to address aggressive wild turkey issue in Longwood community. Birds are protected & fall into gray area on how & when it’s ok to remove #WFTV pic.twitter.com/Hi4EteWMgU
— Angela Jacobs WFTV (@AngelaJacobsTV) January 24, 2018
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