Arizona has its own wild turkeys
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The pilgrims weren’t the only ones eating turkey in 1621.
Most Americans are familiar with the story of the first Thanksgiv-ing, when the pilgrims joined American In-dians to celebrate a bountiful harvest in the autumn of 1621.
While the pilgrims and Indians were feasting on turkey, venison and an array of other food in Massachusetts, the Apache Indians in what would become New Mexico and Arizona were likely eating turkey — Gould’s turkey to be exact.
Even today, Gould’s turkeys still roost in southeast Arizona. Locally, the large bird can be found around Bonita Creek, the Gila Mountains, the Gila Box Canyon and the Pinaleño Mountains.
They also can be found in the Catalina, Huachuca and White mountain ranges in eastern Arizona.
“They’re all over,” said Diane Drobka, public affairs specialist with the federal Bureau of Land Management.
Not only are the large birds still living in southeast Arizona, they can still be hunted on a limited basis.
The hunting season is in late summer and early fall. For example, this year’s shotgun season ran from Oct. 3-9, Drobka said. Licensed hunters must apply for a tag, and then there is a drawing to determine who will be allowed to hunt. Those whose tags are drawn are also assigned to a hunt unit. No turkey-hunting permits are issued for Graham and Greenlee counties.
“Most of the turkey permits are for the White Mountains area,” Drobka said.
Turkeys were not only a food source for the Apaches, they were a part of Apache folklore. Their image can be found on Indian pottery, and turkeys sometimes have a prominent role in folklore tales, according to the Web sites adobepottery.com and firstpeople.us.
Today, Gould’s turkey is considered big game in Arizona. It shares that designation with elk, deer and bears, Drobka said.
Gould’s turkey has the largest body frame of any of the five North American subspecies of wild turkey. The bird is blue-green with large, white-tipped tail feathers, according to the Web site wildturkeyzone.com.
