Landowners detecting crop damage caused by any species of wildlife should contact their local WDNR wildlife manager. In 1983, my father participated in the first spring hunting season which allowed him to hunt the gobbler. In addition to the spring season, a fall either-sex hunting season began in 1989 to provide additional hunting opportunities. Turkeys have the highest densities in southwestern Wisconsin. By 1860, wild turkeys were rare throughout Wisconsin, with the last sightings occurring during the late 1800 s.
Turkeys have many natural predators, most of which prey extensively on eggs and young poults.
These predators include skunks, opossums, raccoons, snakes, crows, coyotes, foxes, and certain other rodents. Wild turkeys are also susceptible to many diseases and parasites such as turkey pox, blackhead, round worms, tapeworms, and several small blood parasites. The first attempt to reintroduce wild turkeys occurred in 1887 when a private individual released two pairs of wild turkeys near Lake Koshkonong. The WDNR entered into a trade agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1974. In return for 135 Coue Region ruffed grouse, the first shipment of turkeys from Missouri were released in the Bad Axe watershed in Vernon County in January 1976.