A bizarre video featuring a flock of turkeys walking almost ritualistically in a circle around a dead cat has raised a lot of questions since the video was posted online on Thursday (March…
A bizarre video featuring a flock of turkeys walking almost ritualistically in a circle around a dead cat has raised a lot of questions since the video was posted online on Thursday (March 2).
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These turkeys trying to give this cat its 10th life pic.twitter.com/VBM7t4MZYr
— J… (@TheReal_JDavis) March 2, 2017
Around 20 turkeys encircle the deceased feline in the baffling footage out of Randolph, Massachusetts. Posted to Twitter by a witness to the weird behaviour, the video quickly went viral, prompting the nearby publication, Boston Magazine, to consult David Scarpitti, an expert from the National Wild Turkey Federation.
“Turkeys are naturally fearful of cats, which can be a threat to younger, smaller birds,” Scarpitti told the magazine. “So it’s likely that, when they came across a dead one in the road, they were very curious to see what was going on and whether it was alive.
“Turkeys tend to follow a leader or two as they roam through suburban yards in search of food. So if one leader took it upon itself to march around the corpse and inspect it, it makes sense that the others would follow its lead, while keeping a safe distance from the fallen feline. Hence, a near perfect circle”.
Scarpitti went on to say he had never seen footage like this in his 15 years of experience as a wildlife biologist.