Escaped turkeys saved from Thanksgiving meal

ANTIGO — Two of the luckiest turkeys in the world are safe from the roasting pan after a death-defying escape from a moving truck and a run-in with the law.

The turkeys were being hauled in a crate over the weekend, likely bound for a slaughterhouse, when they fell off the back of a truck driving along State 29 near South 48th Avenue in Wausau​, police said. The truck kept driving after the birds fell off, the driver probably unaware of their escape, allowing the turkeys a brief glimpse of life on the lam.

Two Wausau police officers were sent to take care of the birds and found them sitting underneath a tree along the north side of Highway 29. Stymied by the birds, which "made a break for it" when police arrived, the officers phoned the Raptor Education Group Inc., a wildlife rehab operation in Antigo, for help from Executive Director Marge Gibson.

Gibson already was up to her eyeballs in fowl problems, having recently admitted three bald eagles suffering from lead poisoning, but she did tell police the birds wouldn't survive if left on their own. She said she could care for the animals but could not spare any staff members to retrieve them from Wausau.

Enter volunteers from Wild Instincts, another wildlife rehabilitation group. The Rhinelander nonprofit was willing to help, but it takes only wild animals, not domestic birds bound for the dinner table. But one of its drivers, Mike Disher and his father-in-law Tom Rueger, were available to make the trek.

By the time they arrived, police had already stuffed one of the turkeys back into its crate, Disher said. The second wasn't so accommodating — it took the two cops and two volunteers 15 minutes of running along the north side of Highway 29 to corral the bird and drape it in an emergency blanket to cover it and calm it down, allowing them to put it in the crate, he said. 

Police couldn't confirm where the truck was going, but Disher suspects the end of the journey would have been anything but pleasant for the birds. Not only were they young and seemed to be at a prime age for slaughter, but Disher said he noticed foot and toe bone structure deformities that would be typical in a domesticated turkey, not a wild one. 

And it turns out, these weren't just any garden-variety table-turkey. Having had one in the past, Gibson recognized the rescued female hen and young male jake as blue slate turkeys, listed as a critically endangered breed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Gibson said the turkeys can walk and are comfortably recovering from leg injuries they suffered in the crate crash. Both are in an enclosure of the indoor facility at Gibson's center — a fortunate turn of events for two birds considered heritage animals that command a premium price from hatcheries.

"Falling off a truck on the way to market has (pardon) written all over it," Gibson said. "An accident that could have killed them (both actually) turned out to be the luckiest thing that could have happened to them."

Gibson plans to carve out a place for them at her home on the center's property once the birds recover in full; they'll be joining Gibson's many other birds, in particular her 6-year-old house turkey named Tori, which might give them some tips on their new-found fame.

Tori actually has her own facebook page: www.facebook.com/ToriTurkey/

Reporter Raina Beutel can be reached at raina.beutel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0658. Find her on Twitter as @rainabeutel.