An Oakland neighborhood, under siege for five months by a wild turkey full of rage, has been liberated. Gerald the pugnacious fowl has been captured.
The turkey had been terrorizing Oakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood since May, when his frequent attacks on unsuspecting passersby forced the closure of Morcom Rose Garden, an 8-acre municipal rose garden planted in 1932 that has more than 2,500 rose bushes.
Although some people defended Gerald and spoke lovingly of him, others in the neighborhood demanded the city do something, but officials were hard-pressed to find a solution. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended rounding up Gerald and sending him to that Thanksgiving day dinner table in the sky, but Oakland Animal Services balked at that idea.
Instead, they first attempted to train Gerald to be a kinder, gentler gobbler, something he was not inclined to do. It took some negotiating, but the state eventually approved a plan to capture Gerald and relocate him to an area that had plenty of turkeys, but no people.
That was in August. Gerald managed to elude his would-be rescuers until Thursday morning when Rebecca Dmytryk, director of Wildlife Emergency Services and a wildlife expert with more than 40 years of experience, managed to put one over on the unsuspecting turkey.
Dmytryk and her husband had made an earlier visit to the neighborhood to scope things out and size up Gerald. They had witnessed his aggressive behavior.
“There was just something about him that he would target people from afar and then make a beeline toward them,” Dmytryk says. “He could be relentless.”
Dmytryk returned to the neighborhood Thursday morning with a plan. They had a hard time finding any of the turkeys, but eventually located Gerald, who appeared to be stalking another couple walking in the area.
Dmytryk tossed out Gerald’s favorite food — sunflower seeds and blueberries — and that directed Gerald’s attention her way. Then suddenly, things went wrong. A piece of equipment they were planning to use to catch Gerald failed and Dmytryk’s husband rushed back to the truck to get a replacement.
By then, Gerald was very interested in both the food and Dmytryk, who had dressed in plainclothes — no uniforms or patches — for the operation. As Gerald gave her the eye, she decided turn the table to her advantage.
“I pretended to be a frail old lady,” Dmytryk says.
She crouched over and tucked her arms to her chest. “Oh no, oh no,” she cried. “Go away.”
The more weak and fearful she appeared, the more emboldened Gerald became. Dmytryk continued the act, drawing Gerald in closer and closer. She saw something change in Gerald’s eyes and knew she had him where she wanted. As Gerald moved in to attack, she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck — yes, she says turkeys have neck scruffs that feel a bit like a T-shirt inside a sweatshirt — and she had him.
He instantly became more docile, Dmytryk says, and she was able to wrap her arms around him in a secure hug, but not so tight as to injure him. Her husband appeared about then and they managed to get Gerald into a large carrier and waited for Fish and Wildlife officials to show up.
The wardens escorted Dmytryk and Gerald to the hills around Orinda, where there are plenty of wild turkeys and no humans about. They tagged him before releasing him, and Dmytryk says he seemed pretty happy to be there. She doesn’t think he’ll be any more trouble.
Dmytryk praised Oakland Animal Control for refusing to let Gerald be killed, even though they took a lot of heat for it. Dmytryk says they did the right thing. Gerald’s behavioral issues can be laid at the door of humans, who fed him and made him lose his fear of people.
When Gerald would approach, expecting food, people didn’t know how to react, so they ran and Gerald pursued. He quickly learned he had the upperwing.
“He was habitualized,” Dmytryk said, “and he didn’t need to be killed because of what humans did to him.”
The moral of Gerald’s story, Dmytryk says, is not to feed wildlife.