White-Tailed Deer & Eastern Wild Turkey

Eastern Wild Turkey – Meleagris Gallopavo

Status: Least Concern

Habitat: Wild turkeys range from southern Canada through central Mexico. They are found in hardwood and mixed forests, but they also need open spaces such as pastures or hayfields because these areas provide groundcover and insects used to feed their young.

Adaptations: They have keen eyesight and hearing and their feathers help them blend in with their surroundings. They can fly quickly for short distances, or fly into trees for shelter. Wild turkeys often band together in flocks. They can make a wide range of sounds, including the male’s “gobble” to attract females.

Diet: Adult turkeys forage for food such as acorns, nuts, leaves, buds, seeds and fruit. They eat around 90% plant matter and 10% insects.

Fun Fact: Wild turkeys are one of two domesticated birds native to the New World; their name comes from the mistaken belief that they originated in Turkey. Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States rather than the Bald Eagle, which he considered a scavenger and thief.

Support the Salisbury Zoo by adopting our turkey

White-Tailed Deer – Odocoileus Virginianus

Status: Least Concern

Habitat: White-tailed deer are common throughout much of the United States, but their range stretches much further, from southern Canada down through South America. They are most common in edge habitats, where fields and meadows meet woodlands. They usually feed from late afternoon into the nighttime hours and are often back in the safety of their bedding areas by first light of morning.

Adaptations: The summer hair coat is reddish-brown, while the thicker winter coat is dull brown to grayish. Fawns are covered with white spots for camouflage. Deer use their excellent senses of smell, hearing and eyesight to detect predators. When danger is spotted, deer will flee, flashing their white tails as a warning sign to other deer.

Diet: Green plants, acorns and other nuts, tree buds, woody plants, shrubs and cultivated crops.

Fun Fact: Male white-tailed deer grow antlers, which they use to compete for access to females. After the breeding season, these antlers drop off, and are regrown the next year.

Support the Salisbury Zoo by adopting our white-tailed deer