Flock of turkeys terrorizing North Side neighborhood
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Blocking traffic, attacking the mailman, even chasing little kids headed to the park -- a flock of turkeys is getting a bad rap in a city neighborhood.
Neighbors reached out to KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller in search of a solution.
There's a flock of angry turkeys that are calling the North Side home and you might wonder why a bunch of turkeys want to live on the North Side, but you might change your mind when you see there's a park where you're not legally allowed to hunt, homes right nearby and posted no hunting signs. It seems like maybe the turkeys have read the city ordinances.
Sara Morgan's got a problem with her neighbors.
"Five in the street, they block traffic, they'll walk around the cars," she said.
She says they're giving nothing but feathers and scat and attitude.
"It's like the North Side gang, it's like the North Side turkey gang," she said.
She watched as the fearless flock attacked the mail carrier and she's fearful for kids out playing or walking to the nearby park on Hall Street.
"Kids walking down the street, schools starting soon -- I'm scared because these kids can't protect themselves," she said.
Meghan Schiller took her concerns to turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena who said acting scared is the worst thing you can do.
"At least standing your ground, waving your arms, showing that you're bigger than the turkey," said Casalena, who is with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Caselena says turkeys are in a constant power struggle in the flock and they'll practice showing dominance to anyone.
"Turkeys aren't the smartest critters. They'll assume that they're a different flock or part of their flock, so they'll show their dominance to humans and it's basically just them trying to tell the human, 'no I'm in charge.'"
She says the Game Commission doesn't relocate nuisance turkeys but they'll eventually leave unless someone's feeding them.
"As long as land owners stop feeding them, then they will typically go and forage naturally on their own, eventually," Caselena said.
Casalena recommends using a garden hose or a big water squirt gun -- anything to harass the turkeys and convince them to move along.
The no hunting signs at the park and homes close nearby mean these neighbors can't even grab a bow and arrow during fall hunting. So it's now a neighborhood mission to stop feeding the wildlife.
"Well, something's gonna get done because if a child gets hurt, then something will get done. I'm trying to prevent that," Morgan said.