Turkey with arrow through body gets fitting name — and seems to be fine, CA experts say
A wild turkey in Southern California is attracting a lot of attention over its unusual injury.
It’s unclear when the turkey first turned up with an arrow through its chest in Monterey County, but amateur wildlife photographer Guy Churchward said he first heard about the bird — which he aptly nicknamed “Cupid” — more than six months ago.
Cupid hangs out near a watering hole in the Monterra area not far from where Churchward first heard of the animal at the Tehama Golf Club, he told McClatchy News in an email.
He was driving to Home Depot one morning when he spotted her there — and luckily he had his long lens camera with him, he said. He captured stunning footage of the bird walking around with the arrow sticking straight up out of her chest, which he posted to YouTube July 29.
“I’m celebrating the fact she’s a fighter and continues on,” he said in the caption, adding that he was unimpressed with the efforts of a local wildlife rescue organization, SPCA Monterey County, for failing to rescue the bird.
Beth Brookhouser, a spokesperson for the organization, said that’s because Cupid is “quite mobile” and does “surprisingly well” considering her unfortunate circumstances. She said that makes rescuing the bird “difficult if not impossible” — and potentially more risky to her health than just leaving her be.
Officials with the organization first received reports of Cupid’s status in May, and most sightings indicate she moves “freely like all other turkeys and she doesn’t stay in one place for long,” Brookhouser said.
“She is a wild animal who wants to stay away from humans and will do all she can to get away, hurting herself more in the process,” Brookhouser said, adding that no one has been able to get within 20 yards of Cupid.
“Right now with her so healthy and mobile, the risks of capture are far higher than the risks she faces remaining in the wild,” Brookhouser said. “We will continue to monitor her and truly appreciate updates on her health and location.
SPCA Monterey County officials believe an illegal hunter intentionally shot Cupid in an act of animal cruelty — so one way the public can help is finding “the person responsible so this doesn’t happen to more wildlife in the Monterra community,” Brookhouser said.
“We feel terrible that someone was so cruel to this poor bird,” she said. “We hope that with all the conversations online about this turkey, someone will come forward and identify the person responsible so they can be brought to justice. It’s horrifying to know that someone who lives in the Monterra community would do this cruel act.”
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