5 Surprising Things about Turkeys—A Thanksgiving Episode

Hey guys! Originally, I had a very special Thanksgiving episode planned for my American friends! Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans and I got a whoppin' cold last week, that still hasn't cleared up yet! I don't really have a voice to speak of (hah!), but I wanted to do a video for you anyways! With the US celebrating Thanksgiving soon, I wanted to let you in on some very cool turkey facts! #1 Turkeys almost went extinct! Back in the early 20th century, there were only 30,000 turkeys that remained. Thanks to the work of conservationists, turkeys are now everywhere! (And in some places there are so many of them, they are officially a nuisance!) #2 Turkeys can purr! They can also cackle, whistle and yelp. The notorious 'turkey gobble' is only possible for males, however. #3 Turkeys have wonderful vision! You can see 180 degrees due to the placement of your eyes, but turkeys can see about 270 degrees around! They are also capable of seeing UV light! #4 Perhaps the most surprising turkey fact I know: turkeys are insanely fast. I mean, considering we see these creatures as lazy, slow slobs, the ability to run at speeds of 25 mph is pretty impressive! To put that into perspective, that's as fast as a charging elephant! #5 This might seem like a joke, but turkey attacks aren't funny business. Turkey behavior experts really DO advise to call the police if you are ever in a situation where a turkey is attacking you. This is because turkeys are always trying to impress other turkeys--and what better way than to attack something much bigger than yourself? So don't be afraid of looking silly—call the cops if turkeys ever chase you! (Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd write!) I hope you enjoyed this mini-video—I hope to be back next week with a voice! Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Come hang out in our Facebook Group: Animals for Smart People (http://bit.ly/2dhKAmV) Twitter: @Jess_Keating (me!) and @AnimalsSmartPpl Instagram: jesskeatingbooks More about Jess: www.jesskeating.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- Producer, Writer, Creator, Editor, Host: Jess Keating --------------------------------------------------------------------- Theme music, images and SFX: Turkey: By Vince pahkala (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)], via Wikimedia Commons Zoology in London, England) Kevin Macleod - Wagon Wheel