This Turkey Tuesday is about a classic case of symbiosis. Have you ever noticed that wild turkeys often end up spending time, typically feeding, in areas where deer are doing the same? Obviously, both species feed on some of the same things, so it’s no surprise to see them hanging around the same spots. But it’s also likely that the 2 species have a true form of mutualism – wherein interacting with each other provides net benefits to both. Many turkey hunters have commented that if turkeys had the sense of smell that a deer has, we’d never kill one – I’ve had several toms live to see another day because a nearby deer smelled a rat and sounded the alarm. Perhaps wild turkeys and deer sharing space when both need to be less vigilant, such as when they are feeding, is such a form of mutualism, because the combination of a deer’s smell and a turkey’s eyesight is a potent combination. It’s also interesting that you’ll see interactions between wild turkeys and deer that we view as them playing games, such as in this series of pictures, but it’s more likely that these interactions are in response to something specific. For instance, maybe the doe standing her ground to this tom resulted from her having fawns nearby, or maybe the tom attempting to spook the doe was to get free access to resources he didn’t want to share. Either way, watching the 2 species interact never fails to be entertaining. The take home is wild turkeys and deer may have a form of symbiosis that benefits both species in various ways.
Pics by Joe Foster.
