Graphic by Shirley Duong.

Easter weekend on campus this year looked a lot more like Thanksgiving when a wild turkey wandered onto campus and kept students company all week.

The turkey has been seen on the upper region of campus, close to Colonel By Drive, parking lot one, and Paterson Hall.

Students who’ve seen the turkey have been keeping a “turkey watch” on social media and calling the university to report its location, according to Campus Safety community liaison officer Mark Hargreaves.

The turkey may have been attracted to Carleton’s campus because of the large, open areas with acorns and seeds available from trees, according to Carleton biology professor and Ontario wildlife expert Michael Runtz.

The campus is located in an ideal environment for wildlife, with the Rideau River, a farm, and Brewer Park all nearby, Runtz said.

As another explanation for the turkey’s presence on campus, Runtz said, “It wants to learn.”

“Officers have taken a look and it seems to be in good health—just hanging out here on campus,” Hargreaves said. “It will find its own food and it will depart campus when it’s ready to leave.”

Turkeys do not ordinarily pose a risk to safety, but male birds tend to get aggressive during mating season, Runtz said.

Even then, he said “It’s humans that pose the greatest risk to humans.”

The turkey was captured on April 8 by Orkin Canada’s professional bird and wildlife services personnel.

Pest control inside buildings is the responsibility of the Facilities Management and Planning department at Carleton, but there is no designated department for wildlife found outdoors.

In the event that a wild animal poses a risk to students on campus outside of buildings, Canadian Wildlife Services are contacted, Hargreaves said.

“We have removed groundhogs, bats, raccoons, skunks, and one deer that had wandered onto campus,” said Kevin Gallinger, assistant director of maintenance services. “We use an outside licensed pest control company to live trap and remove the animals from campus.”

Runtz said he agrees with this approach except for releasing bats back into the wild during winter, where they may not be able to survive.

Bats are an endangered species and should be released to groups who will maintain them, he said.

Bats, skunks, raccoons, and mice are removed only from buildings, according to Gallinger.

Groundhogs can pose a risk to people on campus by digging holes that can cause falls. Bats are removed because they have been known to carry rabies and make people on campus uncomfortable. A deer would be removed for its own safety, Gallinger said.

In 2010, a deer found its way on campus and then jumped through a glass door.

“It was pretty startled and pretty scared, so with the assistance of Wildlife Services, [Facilities Management and Planning] had the deer removed safely and returned to a better habitat,” Hargreaves said.

The turkey did not respond to requests for comment, but is reportedly being released into the wild.

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