Turkey

Turkey

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Scientific name: Meleagris gallopavo
Situation in the wild: Common
The Jerusalem Zoo: 2 individuals at the Children's Zoo.
Thousands of years ago man began to domesticate animals for his own use. Domestication is a lengthy process during which man nurtures the desired characteristics in an animal (increased milk production, choice meat, high quality wool, the ability to bear heavy loads, guarding traits, etc.) and transforms it until the domesticated animal is sometimes totally different than the wild animal it was nurtured from. Domestication of various animal species has been practiced all over the world, in many places and by various cultures: The various species of domestic sheep were domesticated from the wild sheep (moulon) in Mediterranean Asia, the domestic chicken was domesticated from the wild hen of southeast Asia, the common donkey was probably from the Wild Ass in east Africa; the alpaca was domesticated in South America and the rabbit was domesticated in Europe.
The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird, domesticated from the wild turkey found in Mexico. In the past, Turkeys were use as a source of meat and eggs, providing a major source of protein. Feathers were used for decorative purposes. Domestic turkeys were later taken to Europe by the Spanish and many distinct breeds were developed in Europe. Today, the Turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry, partially because industrialized farming has made it very cheap for the amount of meat it produces. Turkey litter is used as fertilizer (droppings mixed with bedding material, usually wood chips), but in recent years is being used as a fuel source in electric power plants, such as a plant in western Minnesota, providing 55 megawatts of power using 500,000 tons of litter per year. The Turkey is also used as a pet, because of its good nature and humorous look and behavior. Most domesticated turkeys exhibit white feathers although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are also raised. The fleshy protuberance atop the beak is the snood and the one attached to the underside of the beak is known as a wattle.
You can observe our freindly turkyes as the Children's Zoo.

(Photo: Flori Van-Essen)