How a Naturalist Learned to Communicate With the Wild Turkey Youngsters He’d Raised From Hatchlings

In a clip from the 2011 PBS documentary My Life as a Turkey, American naturalist and author Joe Hutto explains how he’s learning to communicate with the young wild turkeys whom he raised since hatching and even offered a few demonstrations of the calls he’s learned.

I didn’t have the capacity to understand every vocalization, but somehow I have the capacity to understand their meaning. And that was an almost magical thing that occurred with these young birds.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.