Wild turkey still loose in South D

The "phantom" turkey on the loose in Middleton Rd. Photo: Brendon Kerihama Keen
The "phantom" turkey on the loose in Middleton Rd. Photo: Brendon Kerihama Keen
The "South Dunedin wild turkey" remains on the loose in St Clair.

The turkey hit headlines in June for chasing people on Jacobs Ladder steps, a popular South Dunedin walking spot.

In the space of 24 hours two readers contacted the Otago Daily Times about recent encounters, showing the bird is alive and well and still on the loose.

Richard Buchanan spotted what he called the "South Dunedin wild turkey"  sitting down behind a car on a driveway on Forbury Rd.

Brendon Kerihama Keen saw the "phantom turkey" outside his house on Middleton Rd.

It walked around his front yard before making a car stop as it crossed the road to "chill" at a bus stop, Mr Keen said.

In June Martin Montgomery, of St Clair, said he first encountered the turkey when he was running up the Jacobs Ladder steps.

''He jumped out at me and chased me in the dark.

''I didn't know what it was. It was huge though so I initially thought it was a dog.''

Two weeks later the bird was in his driveway.

The bird did not come under Dunedin City Council environmental health and animal services control because no reports of disruption or nuisance had been reported, environmental health and animal services manager Ros MacGill said in June.

Otago SPCA executive officer Sophie McSkimming said the organisation would intervene if the bird became sick or injured.

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