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Don’t let aggressive turkeys bully you, Brookline advises residents

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Town officials in Brookline are telling residents to step up their game and give it right back to bully turkeys.

Mark Wilson/Globe Staff/File

Town officials in Brookline are telling residents to step up their game and give it right back to bully turkeys.

By Globe Staff 

Wild turkeys, watch out: Brookline residents aren’t going to back down.

With so many reports of wild turkeys acting aggressively toward people in this affluent suburb, town officials are telling residents to step up their game and give it right back to the birds.

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“Wild turkeys have a ‘pecking order’ and people who act fearfully will be treated as subordinates,” Brookline officials wrote on the town’s webpage on Aug. 24. “Being aggressive toward wild turkeys is recommended by State wildlife officials.”

The takeaway is: if you’re approached by a turkey, step toward the turkey with confidence. Whatever you do, don’t back away or turn your back toward the bird, the posting says.

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Brookline officials also suggested several options on how to scare turkeys away. Among the many methods are: “making noise (clanging pots or other objects together); popping open an umbrella; shouting and waving your arms; squirting them with a hose; allowing your leashed dog to bark at them; and forcefully fending them off with a broom.”

The Brookline Police Department is asking residents to report any sightings of “threatening wildlife” by calling 617-730-2222.

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.
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