Tom turkeys strut their stuff in the grass on Ward Mountain northeast of Rome this past winter. (Doug Walker, RN-T.com)
The Athens Banner-Herald reported Wednesday that wildlife agencies have seen a regional decline in wild turkeys, and that there are about 7 million of the birds left. Encroaching development, chemical herbicide and natural predators could be factors in the population shift. Researchers told the newspaper that wildfires do not appear to be a leading cause in the decline.
The wild turkey population dropped in the late 1800s and early 1900s, then rebounded in the second half of the 20th century as forests that were cut down in the 1900s grew back.
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