A pet wild turkey not only flew the coop last week, it fled the country, as well.
A week ago, Donna Lowey of Lowey’s Greenhouse and Market Gardens on Highway 602 just west of town noticed one of her nine wild turkeys had disappeared.
Over the weekend, her kids found their missing feathered friend—across the river in International Falls.
“He’s over there crying and crying. He calls to the other [turkeys] but can’t fly back home,” Lowey said Monday.
“He probably got spooked and flew over [the Rainy River],” she guessed.
The wayward turkey has been seen by friends of the family pacing back and forth over a quarter-of-a-mile of riverside property on the U.S. side.
It even appeared in a photo in the Falls Daily Journal when shocked residents spotted him in their garden.
The tom was one of nine wild turkeys the family kept on their property.
“We originally had them for food but the kids turned them into pets,” Lowey explained.
Although the eight males and one female wandered about freely and were never fenced in, Lowey was surprised one went missing since they had never roamed far from home.
For a week now, the turkey has been wandering alongside the river, but hasn’t figured out how to get back home.
“I don’t know what else to do. He’s not tame enough to be picked up and carried across,” Lowey said.
“If anybody sees him over there, scare him and maybe he’ll fly back,” she suggested.
