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Wandering turkey gives police the slip in Calgary

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March 30 (UPI) -- A beloved neighborhood turkey in Calgary, Alberta, wandered far from its usual territory and was caught on camera giving police the slip.

The bird dubbed the Ramsay turkey, or Turk, has been hanging around the Ramsay neighborhood since May 2019, but police said Turk went for a stroll during the weekend, leading to multiple 911 calls Saturday about a turkey loose in the Beltline area.

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Witness Chase Skakun captured video of an unsuccessful attempt by three police officers to wrangle Turk into a patrol vehicle.

Constable Chris Martin said officers were worried the turkey could wander into traffic or get too close to the nearby railroad tracks.

"They thought what they would do is they try to catch him and just bring him back to Ramsay where there's less of a traffic hazard," Martin told CBC News. "A couple efforts were made to try to catch him and get him into a police vehicle ... but he's pretty quick."

Martin said police consulted with Fish and Wildlife officials and eventually decided to leave Turk alone.

"Our theory is because everything is shut down because of COVID-19 and there's less traffic and fewer people out, it's less intimidating for him, so we're just going to let him do his thing," Martin told the Calgary Herald.

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Martin tweeted an update Sunday.

"Turk has wandered over to Manuel Latruwe Bakery, doing his best to support local businesses," Martin wrote. "He is definitely new in the Beltline, but he has not escaped from the zoo & there is no need to call us about him; at this time, there is nothing we can do."

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