STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994
Abstract: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in North America have increased continuously during the past 40 years due to restoration programs, improved habitat conditions, and better protection. A survey of wild turkey populations was first published in the 1959 Proceedings of the First...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
1995-01-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.1995.tb00231.x |
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| _version_ | 1850156762920910848 |
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| author | James Earl Kennamer Mary C. Kennamer |
| author_facet | James Earl Kennamer Mary C. Kennamer |
| author_sort | James Earl Kennamer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in North America have increased continuously during the past 40 years due to restoration programs, improved habitat conditions, and better protection. A survey of wild turkey populations was first published in the 1959 Proceedings of the First Wild Turkey Symposium. Similar surveys have been made since 1970 and the results published in all but one of the subsequent wild turkey symposium proceedings. We describe the current distribution of wild turkeys in North America. We surveyed state and provincial wildlife agency biologists responsible for wild turkey programs in 1994 to determine the status of the bird in their jurisdiction. We report population estimates by subspecies, areas of occupied range, hunter numbers, and harvest, and compare them with figures reported in 1989. Wild turkey populations have increased about .5 million birds in the past five years, and in 1994 are estimated at 4.2 million. The most significant change was a 46% expansion of range occupied by birds due to active state trap and transfer programs. Survey results indicate that reproduction in some established populations was down from previous surveys. Total annual harvest was more than 650,000 birds, which included 492,000 birds taken during the spring hunting season. The number of turkey hunters increased 20% in the last five years to more than 2.1 million. The Target 2000 goal of having wild turkeys occupy all suitable habitats in the United States by the turn of the century appears to be obtainable because just over 148,177 km2 (57,211 mi2) of habitat remains to be stocked. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-974927022eb34f549ecf26bb22832d7f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-5540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 1995-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj-art-974927022eb34f549ecf26bb22832d7f2025-08-20T02:24:25ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55401995-01-011995S120321110.1002/j.2328-5540.1995.tb00231.xSTATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994James Earl Kennamer0Mary C. Kennamer1National Wild Turkey FederationEdgefieldSC29824National Wild Turkey FederationEdgefieldSC29824Abstract: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in North America have increased continuously during the past 40 years due to restoration programs, improved habitat conditions, and better protection. A survey of wild turkey populations was first published in the 1959 Proceedings of the First Wild Turkey Symposium. Similar surveys have been made since 1970 and the results published in all but one of the subsequent wild turkey symposium proceedings. We describe the current distribution of wild turkeys in North America. We surveyed state and provincial wildlife agency biologists responsible for wild turkey programs in 1994 to determine the status of the bird in their jurisdiction. We report population estimates by subspecies, areas of occupied range, hunter numbers, and harvest, and compare them with figures reported in 1989. Wild turkey populations have increased about .5 million birds in the past five years, and in 1994 are estimated at 4.2 million. The most significant change was a 46% expansion of range occupied by birds due to active state trap and transfer programs. Survey results indicate that reproduction in some established populations was down from previous surveys. Total annual harvest was more than 650,000 birds, which included 492,000 birds taken during the spring hunting season. The number of turkey hunters increased 20% in the last five years to more than 2.1 million. The Target 2000 goal of having wild turkeys occupy all suitable habitats in the United States by the turn of the century appears to be obtainable because just over 148,177 km2 (57,211 mi2) of habitat remains to be stocked.https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.1995.tb00231.xdistributionpopulationsrestorationwild turkey |
| spellingShingle | James Earl Kennamer Mary C. Kennamer STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 Wildlife Society Bulletin distribution populations restoration wild turkey |
| title | STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 |
| title_full | STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 |
| title_fullStr | STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 |
| title_full_unstemmed | STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 |
| title_short | STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 1994 |
| title_sort | status and distribution of the wild turkey in 1994 |
| topic | distribution populations restoration wild turkey |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.1995.tb00231.x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamesearlkennamer statusanddistributionofthewildturkeyin1994 AT maryckennamer statusanddistributionofthewildturkeyin1994 |