WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange’s wayward wild turkey has been captured and is enjoying a new home – just in time for Thanksgiving, officials say.
The beloved bird, who has affectionately been nicknamed “Turkules,” has managed to elude capture from local, state and federal wildlife workers since its emergence near the area of Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange.
The bird has racked up a cult following on social media, where it now has its own Facebook page that has dubbed the animal “Turkules.” Its internet fame has since spawned additional glory, including a recent article in The New York Times.
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On Wednesday – the day before Thanksgiving – West Orange township officials released an update on the town’s favorite turkey: He’s been captured and relocated.
According to a statement from the township:
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“An elusive wild turkey which had become the township’s unofficial mascot nicknamed ‘Turkules’ and who was a fixture on the front lawns of Kessler Institute and Daughters Of Israel both located on Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange has finally been captured. Turkules gained notoriety a few short months ago when he set up camp and took over the location causing widespread attention which was even covered by The NY Times. The U.S. Department of Agriculture which is under contract with the NJ DEP Division of Fish Game and Wildlife had been pursuing Turkules for some time now, and had lodged a tranquillizer dart in the breast area, which had no effect on Turkulese – who continued to wear the dart defiantly. Turkulese had also wandered into traffic on Pleasant Valley Way and been struck by a passing car, but had survived that unscathed too.”
The town’s statement continued:
“Had it not been for the number of complaints the township had received with regard to Turkules’ aggressive behavior concerning pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists and motorists, township officials would have been content to allow Turkulese to remain as long as he wanted. Rather than euthanize Turkulese, the township’s elected officials insisted Turkulese be brought to justice alive. Once captured, an official pardon was issued by Mayor Susan McCartney, and Turkulese was relocated to an undisclosed location here in the Garden State. Rumor has it that Turkulese is living comfortably now in Cranbury, but as of this writing, we were unable to confirm.”
“Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Township of West Orange,” the statement concluded.
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