Police in Alameda are warning residents and visitors to take precautions due to an “aggressive” animal in the area: the wild turkey.
Law enforcement said animal control officers have responded to two incidents in recent days as the large birds are in their breeding and nesting season.
Last week, an 83-year-old Alameda woman was injured when two of the turkeys attacked her from behind, according to KGO-TV. She ended up going to the emergency room for a CT scan and treatment, including six stitches. In addition to the injured woman, a dog was also reportedly the subject of another attack.
The Alameda Police Department said in a Facebook post Thursday that the hostile behavior “is often associated with male turkeys competing for dominance or while protecting their offspring.”
The wild turkeys are not native to California but have become an increasingly visible presence after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife helped start a wild population from farmed turkeys in 1959.
The birds can particularly be a menace when passing a shiny vehicle as males may mistake their own reflection as a rival and attack. And the feathered creatures are not exactly tiny, with males measuring up to 4 feet tall and weighing as much as 25 pounds.
Tension between human and feathered residents isn’t new in Alameda, with residents reporting the wild turkeys block intersections and peck at cars on the roadway. Last December, an Alameda man was charged with felony animal cruelty after shooting and killing one.
After the attacks this week, Alameda police encourage residents to give the birds plenty of space and never feed them.
“It is important to remember they are still wild animals,” police said in the post.