A wild turkey is causing a ruckus at the University of Michigan, Arbor where it has chosen to live.
The turkey, which once been tolerated by campus officials is now the target of a bird hunt because of its aggressive behavior, a campus official said, according to Reuters.
The bird has been reportedly chasing pedestrians and cyclists, sneaking into dorms and even causing traffic delays by lying down in the middle of streets.
The gobbler had been living on the Ann Arbor school’s North Campus for months, but it seems the animal’s behavior is getting complaints.
“The challenge with turkeys is they can become very angry and aggressive,” said University of Michigan police spokeswoman Diane Brown.
They haven’t found the bird, yet. The turkey seems to have vacated its spot near the campus dorm and has retreated into a remote portion of campus where other wildlife, like deer, have been known to live, Brown said.
“He hasn’t hurt anybody, but he’s a very aggressive bird,” University of Michigan Police Department deputy chief Melissa Overton told MLive.
The bird is quite large and stands as tall as a person’s chest and has become famous on campus. Students and staff would share sightings on social media.
“You know you live on North Campus when a turkey gets into your dorm … resulting in the place smelling awful,” student Samantha Sims tweeted in April.
The bird is famous at the school and is nicknamed, “Turkey Tom,” and has its own Twitter account.
The turkey has been causing trouble since at least the spring, when it and another turkey began chasing people and blocking traffic on streets, campus officials and students said.
The second turkey was hit and killed by a car.
Campus police called in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, but the agency initially told school officials to leave the bird alone.
It wasn’t until campus officials received enough reports of its aggressive behavior that the state agency gave the university the okay to capture it, if they could.
Overton said anyone who sees the turkey should call campus police to alert them of the turkey’s location.
“Do not try to approach the turkey,” she said to MLive. “We’ve gotten calls from people who have been trapped and unable to move because he’s cornered them.”
