February 4, 1996
Web posted at: 10:30 GMT
From Correspondent Chuck Coppola
DANVILLE, California (CNN) -- Danville, California is an affluent community east of San Francisco, where the deer, the cattle and the turkeys play -- and no one gets much sleep. (43K AIFF sound or 43K WAV sound)
The problem is the turkeys. There used to be just two. A nearby farmer kept them in a pen, not knowing the birds could fly. Now, there may be as many as 90 of them, messing up yards and falling into swimming pools.
Neighbors say that practically the whole town gets up at 6 a.m., when the turkeys start their morning activities. (808K QuickTime movie)
"And we're not talking about little bitty turkeys," says Danville's vice mayor, Mike Shimanski. "These are three feet tall -- big turkeys." (162K AIFF sound or 162K WAV sound)
Brian Nelson found their appetites much larger than his bank account when the birds used his gardens as a favorite dining spot.
"(Their) favorites were petunias, pansies and marigolds," Nelson says. "So I went to the nursery several times and they'd eat them about as fast as I could buy them and plant them." (204K AIFF sound or 204K WAV sound)
Nelson says he gave up keeping his garden in annuals by August last year. And there is no end in sight for the problem.
State fish and game inspectors say they have no plans to relocate the birds because some of them may carry diseases -- like smallpox -- and because they are technically not "wild" turkeys.
About half of the people in Danville think the turkeys are cute ... mostly at a distance. But others are considering more drastic measures -- particularly drastic if you happen to be a turkey.
"It's been brought up by some neighbors that they'd like to go hunting turkeys with a bow and arrow," Shimanski says.
For now, the turkeys get some reprieve. Turkey season doesn't begin until late fall ... near a certain holiday they'd rather not think about.
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