Turkey hunters in the northwest are fortunate to have birds to hunt. With no native turkeys in the area, it wasn’t until the 1960s, 70s, and 80s that states like Washington, Oregon, and Idaho saw their first glimpse of gobblers. The turkeys were introduced as part of state agency efforts to establish these birds and create viable hunting opportunities. The results were an immediate success, resulting in sustainable populations of wild turkeys across the Northwest United States.
These populations consisted of Rios, Merriams, and Easterns, depending on the region and stocking efforts of the states. Idaho, in particular, has all three species. As a hunter looking to complete a slam, this may seem like the ideal state to knock off a variety of species with minimal travel. Unfortunately, hunters and biologists have begun to observe interbreeding within the three species, leading to weakened genetic distinctions and overlapping characteristics.
Telemetry Tracking in Idaho’s Wild Turkeys:
With three distinct subspecies of turkeys in Idaho, biologists set out to determine what habitat each subspecies of turkey was using and how they may overlap. In doing so, they would be able to obtain valuable information on their habitats and how they may be overlapping if it all. This valuable data could then be used to make management decisions to sustain genetic diversity.
To best study this biologist used satellite telemetry tracking paired with GPS backpacks deployed on several birds across the three subspecies—Rios, Merriams, and Easterns. By monitoring the turkey movements, biologists would be able to determine what habitat each species preferred and whether or not they were overlapping. The study followed the three subspecies for 9 months, and only recently did we get a glimpse into the results.
Surprising Telemetry Results
With the study concluded, biologists analyzed the data and populated a telemetry map with the GPS points. The results showed a majority of birds overlapped in the preferred habitat and territory ranges, confirming their interbreeding suspicions. However, what shocked biologists was one particular bird, an Eastern tagged in Northwest Idaho.
Bird #TR311, a tom tagged in June 2023, quickly began his migration North. In a historic migration, and the first documented by physical data to support it, this turkey made the 2,000-mile journey to the southeast corner of Alaska. Impressive is an understatement, as the long journey was completed in a little over 4 months, averaging out to roughly 16 miles a day. This begs the question, why did this eastern make such a treacherous migration?
Alaska’s First Wild Turkey
It’s no secret turkeys will expand their territory in search of new areas and new mates. Turkeys crossing the border to Canada is a regular occurrence, and it’s likely this bird banded near the border had set off North to find a new territory. Somewhere along his way through British Columbia, he reached the limit of established turkey populations. Rather than turning back, the bird carried on until it eventually landed itself in Southeast Alaska alone and likely confused. With such an impressive migration, the biologists aptly dubbed #TR311 with the name Forrest Gump. The biologists don’t exactly know what’s next for Forrest Gump and whether or not he will make his way back to Idaho, but one thing is for certain… it makes for a great April Fools’ Joke!