Game Commission Shows Students How It Traps, Bands Wild Turkeys

The Pennsylvania Game Commission's process of trapping and banding turkeys was demonstrated for about 15 students in forestry instructor Jack E. Fisher's Wildlife Management laboratory on Wednesday. On State Game Lands 252, near Penn College's Schneebeli Earth Science Center, Tony Ross, a wildlife biologist with the commission, showed students how turkeys are trapped in the wild and banded to determine survival rates. Bands are placed on gobblers' legs and, if the turkey is found or harvested, a hunter can call a toll-free number on the band and collect a $100 reward. "This has been a slower year to trap turkeys due to the exceptionally mild winter, where a lot of natural food is available," explained Erich R. Doebler, a laboratory assistant for forest technology in the college's School of Natural Resources Management (who provided the photos above). "Snow normally limits turkeys' ability to feed on natural food sources and forces them to use food placed by humans."