STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILD TURKEY IN 2004
Abstract: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in North America have increased steadily in the past 50 years since restoration began in earnest. This increase is the result of intensified restoration efforts, improved habitat conditions and increased protection. A North American survey of w...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2005-01-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.2005.tb00289.x |
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| Summary: | Abstract: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations in North America have increased steadily in the past 50 years since restoration began in earnest. This increase is the result of intensified restoration efforts, improved habitat conditions and increased protection. A North American survey of wild turkey populations was first published in the 1959 Proceedings of the First Wild Turkey Symposium. Similar surveys have been made every 5 years since 1970 and the results published in all but one of the subsequent wild turkey symposia. In 2004, we surveyed state and provincial wildlife agency biologists responsible for wild turkey programs to determine the status of the bird in their jurisdiction. Based on the survey, we describe the current distribution of wild turkeys in North America. We report population estimates by subspecies, compare current occupied range to that of 5 years ago, compare hunter numbers and harvest numbers with figures from 1999, and report on the status of each state's or province's restoration program. Wild turkey populations have increased between 1.2–1.4 million birds in the past 5 years, and in 2004 were estimated to be between 6.6–6.9 million birds. The total annual harvest increased by 24% to 920,012, which included 730,541 birds taken during the 2004 spring hunting season. The number of turkey hunters increased 6% in the past 5 years to more than 2.8 million. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-5540 |