Turkey terrorizes D.C. residents on bike trail, drawing blood and sowing fear
A wild turkey that has been terrorizing Washington, D.C., residents has crossed into Maryland and is eluding five agencies from as many jurisdictions.
The ferocious fowl’s most frequent favorite haunt is the Anacostia River Walk Trail near the Kenilworth Gardens, just east of the United States National Arboretum and not far from the D.C. border with Maryland.
“I was attacked there,” local resident Cliff Robinson, 70, told The Wall Street Journal. “Three weeks ago. I was trying to get away from him and he came after me. He wouldn’t let me pass.”
Even people on wheels aren’t safe, as evidenced by video posted by singer DeDe Folarin, who had recently been attacked and then found himself trying to help a cyclist fend off the angry bird.
“It was a scary situation,” Folarin told WSLS-TV. “Just riding along the path, this gigantic turkey just jumps up towards my face, almost knocked me off my bike, then proceeded to chase me around for five minutes.”
“There’s actually a pretty healthy turkey population in D.C. and surrounding areas,,” D.C. Department of Energy and Environment wildlife biologist Dan Rauch told WSLS. “There’s at least a hundred, maybe even two, here in the district. You just never see them.”
Just the one bird seems to be on the rampage, which has reportedly been going on for months. The turkey, a tom, has only gotten more aggressive. It has drawn blood with puncture wounds, and left scratches and bruises. One victim recounted ending up at urgent care with puncture wounds, needing a tetanus shot and antibiotics, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“There is an element of humor to it,” Rauch, who is part of the team trying to catch the bird that’s on the lam, told The Journal. “There is a terror turkey stalking a river trail. If I hadn’t seen the videos myself, I would have thought it was an urban myth.”
