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Have You Seen This? Even wild turkeys cant stop the mail
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The video is almost adorable as this carrier expertly uses a big pole to effectively block the turkeys from getting too close, but Im fairly sure the turkeys arent looking for companionable cuddles, theyre looking to peck the carriers legs into bloody submission. - photo by Martha Ostergar
GOBBLE GOBBLE ROAD Im not a nature expert, but I do know that protecting territory is many animals first priority, including many birds.

I witnessed it firsthand this summer as I watched one particularly entitled hummingbird divebomb three other hummingbirds trying to use the same feeder. And if you want a little more anecdotal proof, watch this Australian bike through magpie territory.

Even the humble yet noble turkey will fiercely guard its territory. Just ask this mailman from Falmouth, Massachusetts, who encounters a territorial flock of five turkeys every day on his mail route. (Or listen to this terrifying story from This American Life of a turkey terrorizing a small town on Marthas Vineyard in 2008.)

The video is almost adorable as this carrier expertly uses a big pole to effectively block the turkeys from getting too close, but Im fairly sure the turkeys arent looking for companionable cuddles, theyre looking to peck the carriers legs into bloody submission. (Hyperbole added for effect.)

Even though the USPS creed is not official, I think its safe to say that this brave carrier can now tout a modified version as his personal creed: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor wild turkeys stays this courier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds."
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