Have you seen the turkey at Westlake Shopping Center? Colorado Parks and Wildlife says steer clear and don’t feed him.
A turkey is now the most famous patron in the Westlake Shopping Center at 35th Avenue and 20th Street next to Sanborn Park. Photo by Kelly Ragan.
By Dan England
This turkey may be Greeley’s most famous in a while, and yes, we are counting Thanksgiving.
The summer months generally aren’t known for the holiday meal centerpiece, but this wild turkey is now the most famous patron in the Westlake Shopping Center at 35th Avenue and 20th Street next to Sanborn Park. He hangs around the businesses by Kings Soopers, though his favorite location now seems to be Subway. He allows photos. He even has his own Instagram account - Greeleyturkeyfp.
This isn’t as cute, or as funny, as it seems.
The turkey made the shopping center his home a couple weeks before spring turkey hunting season, which began April 9. Hey, it’s hard to blame him. But things went south from there, said Jason Clay, spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s northeast region, which includes Greeley. People fed him and some businesses left food out for him. This caused him to feel comfortable around people. Wildlife people call this being “habitualized” around people. Animal Control is also aware of the turkey, though the bird is wild and therefore falls under the CPW’s jurisdiction.
The turkey hangs around the businesses by Kings Soopers, though his favorite location now seems to be Subway. Photo by Dan England.
“The turkey isn’t afraid of cars, as people are feeding him from their vehicles,” Clay said, “and it has caused damage to cars by pecking at its reflection and scratching vehicles up.”
The area’s wildlife officer has contacted businesses within the center and told them not to feed the turkey, which is illegal anyway. The Blue Mug, a popular coffee place on the corner, has a sign taped to its door asking customers not to feed him and to beware of him.
CPW would prefer it if residents would scare him away, making life unpleasant for the bird and therefore encouraging him to move on, but Clay worries about that too.
“The area is so heavy with traffic that I don’t want the general public to start overstepping their bounds,” Clay said.
Plus the turkey hasn’t hurt anyone, but wild animals are unpredictable, and it’s illegal to hurt one too.
They would like to relocate him — you can occasionally spot wild turkeys by the Poudre River Trail off 71st Avenue, and there probably are other areas — but traffic also prevents CPW from using tools to capture him, as it’s not as if they can shut down perhaps Greeley’s busiest shopping center.