The turkey is a large bird that is native to North America. It is one of the most recognizable birds in the world due to its distinctive fan-shaped tail, fleshy wattle that hangs from its beak, and the large tuft of feathers on its chest. The turkey is an important part of Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States and is also a popular main course for Christmas dinners. But is this iconic bird found in India?
Origin and Distribution of Turkey
The turkey is indigenous to North America and parts of Central America and Mexico. It is believed that the turkey was domesticated by indigenous people in Mexico over 2000 years ago. The turkey gets its name from the country Turkey, which is where early European explorers believed the bird was originally from since it was imported to Europe from the Turkish empire. However, the turkey is not native to Turkey or anywhere else outside the Americas.
There are 6 known subspecies of wild turkey that are found across North America:
- Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) – found in the eastern United States
- Osceola turkey (Meleagris gallopavo osceola) – found in Florida
- Rio Grande wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) – found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
- Merriam’s turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) – found in the Rocky Mountains and northwest United States
- Gould’s turkey (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana) – found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
- South Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) – found in northeastern and central Mexico
The natural range of the wild turkey does not extend to India or anywhere else outside the Americas. The turkey was introduced to Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world only after being domesticated by Native Americans. It is primarily raised as poultry and not found as a native wild bird outside the Americas.
Introduction of Turkey to India
Turkey was introduced to India by Portuguese traders in the 16th century. Turkey farming was adopted on a limited scale during the British colonial rule mainly among Anglo-Indian communities. Modern turkey farming began in the 1960s when private companies started importing breeding stock from America and Europe to crossbreed with local varieties.
Today, commercial turkey farming is concentrated primarily in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal. The major turkey breeds raised in India include:
- Broad Breasted Bronze
- Broad Breasted White
- Beltsville Small White
- Bourbon Red
These commercial breeds are not able to survive in the wild and are genetically adapted for intensive rearing. They are completely domesticated unlike wild turkeys found in America.
Habitat and Behavior of Wild Turkeys
Wild turkeys are found in open woodlands, grasslands, meadows, and open forests. They need a mix of open areas for feeding and woodlands for roosting and taking shelter. The different subspecies are adapted to the specific habitats within their native ranges.
Turkeys spend most of their time on the ground foraging for food like seeds, berries, roots, grasses, and insects. At night they roost in trees. Males are polygamous and mate with multiple females. Male wild turkeys are larger, more colorful, and have distinct plumage compared to females. Families congregate in large flocks of 100+ birds during fall and winter.
If wild turkeys were present in India, they would likely inhabit forests, woodlands, and agricultural areas in central, north, and northeast India. The Himalayan forests and Gangetic plains could offer suitable habitat. But the behavior and ecology would likely be different than wild North American turkeys since Asian ecosystems are quite distinct.
Status of Existing Turkey Population in India
Turkey is not found in the wild anywhere in India. The existing turkey population is purely domesticated birds reared on commercial turkey farms:
- India produced around 95,000 tons of turkey meat in 2020.
- There are an estimated 3 million domesticated turkeys in India.
- Per capita turkey consumption remains low at under 50 grams per person annually compared to over 7 kg per person in the United States.
- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are the top turkey producing states.
- Popular turkey products include cold cuts, sausages, burgers, and curries.
The domesticated turkeys lack the behavioral and survival instincts of wild birds. They are completely dependent on farmers for their food, shelter, and protection from predators.
Challenges for Establishing Wild Turkey Populations
It is highly unlikely that viable wild turkey populations could establish themselves in India due to the following constraints:
- Climate – India’s predominantly hot tropical climate would impose thermal stress on wild turkeys adapted to temperate regions of America.
- Habitat – Much of India’s forests have been logged and converted to plantations unsuitable for turkeys. Fragmented woodlands limit food availability.
- Predators – India has many natural predators of ground birds like jungle cats, jackals, mongooses and pythons that could prey on turkeys.
- Diseases – Turkey diseases like avian influenza could spread from domestic flocks. Mycoplasma infections could affect wild populations.
- Competition – India’s jungles have pheasants, peafowl and other ground-dwelling birds competing for the same ecological niche.
- Poaching – Turkeys would be highly prized by poachers for meat and feathers leading to unsustainable exploitation.
These ecological constraints make it highly improbable for wild turkey populations to naturally establish themselves in India’s habitats despite the presence of domesticated birds. Attempts to deliberately introduce wild turkeys from America would also likely fail.
Occasional Sightings of Turkeys in The Wild
There have been a handful of unverified reports of turkeys spotted in the wild in India, especially from forests around poultry farms. These are likely domestic turkeys that have escaped captivity. India’s jungles are home to multiple galliforme birds like peafowl, junglefowl, francolins, partridges etc. escaped domestic turkeys could be misidentified as these native birds.
Occasional sightings do not mean turkeys have established sustainable breeding populations. They would represent escaped feral individuals from farms, not wild birds. Similar stray livestock sightings are also reported in India especially around villages located close to forests.
Prospects for Commercial Turkey Farming
Despite turkeys being exotic to India, commercial turkey farming has good prospects for future growth mainly driven by:
- Rising incomes and demand for poultry meat
- Increasing fast food outlets using processed turkey
- Low input costs for establishing turkey farms
- Favorable year-round climate for turkey rearing in most states
- High profitability potential compared to other poultry
India produced under 100,000 tons of turkey meat in 2020 compared to over 6 million tons in the USA. As Indian diets become more protein-rich, turkey can help meet the rising demand for poultry, currently dominated by chicken.
Conclusion
In summary, turkeys are not native to India and there are no wild turkeys found in India. The turkey is an exotic domesticated bird introduced from America. Occasional sightings of turkeys in Indian forests likely represent escaped domestic individuals, not wild populations. Establishing wild turkeys in India faces major ecological hurdles. However, the prospects for commercial turkey farming remain bright driven by rising demand for poultry meat. With adequate investments, India could emerge as a major turkey producing country in the coming years through focus on commercial domestic production rather than introduction of wild turkeys.