0:00:19 > 0:00:25Day after day, for over a year, I saw no-one, except my family.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30It was a family like none that you know.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35But I am a mother, it seems, and these are my children.
0:00:37 > 0:00:43And soon enough, like all children, they'll leave home and I suppose my heart will be broken.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47But, for now, this is my life...
0:00:47 > 0:00:48as a turkey.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04My name is Joe Hutto.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10Some years ago now I spent 18 months raising some wild turkeys from the egg.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15And spending all this time alone with a bunch of birds
0:01:15 > 0:01:19may appear close to insanity to you, but you don't know turkeys like I do.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24No-one has been this close to wild turkeys before.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Maybe, no-one ever will again.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32What happened between me and these birds was in fact legitimate science.
0:01:32 > 0:01:38But it's also true this experiment of mine left science far behind.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44At the time, I had no idea the extent to which I would have actually have to BECOME a wild turkey.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55It all started back in 1995 in North Florida...
0:01:57 > 0:02:04..when a local farmer was on his way to my cabin with a delivery that would change my life forever.
0:02:04 > 0:02:10I was suddenly about to get the eggs that I had been waiting for, for over 30 years.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26I came home one afternoon and there was a stainless steel dog bowl filled with eggs on my doorstep.
0:02:28 > 0:02:36I had no plans whatsoever so I raced out in the night, found an incubator at a friend's house, brought it back.
0:02:36 > 0:02:43They had been without incubation for at least seven or eight hours so I was really concerned.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50If I could hatch the eggs, then I hoped I could get the poults to imprint on me
0:02:50 > 0:02:55as their mother, and I could gain passage into a secret world.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Imprinting gives a window into the lives
0:03:01 > 0:03:07of creatures that you would never have an opportunity to see otherwise.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15And so you get an insight that you can't get any other way.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Each one of these eggs harbours a mystery.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28It's something untamed and virtually unknown to us...
0:03:29 > 0:03:31..an embodiment of wilderness.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42And, yes, this is the species from which our domesticated birds come from originally.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46But people shouldn't make the mistake
0:03:46 > 0:03:48that there's a similarity between these birds
0:03:48 > 0:03:51and the ones we've tamed for food.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Wild turkeys are so incredibly different.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Each egg must be properly turned twice a day.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I'm told wild turkeys make utterances to their clutch.
0:04:25 > 0:04:32So secretly, in both wild turkey and English, I began to talk turkey.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34(Hi, guys.)
0:04:34 > 0:04:37HE HONKS
0:04:37 > 0:04:41'Almost immediately I started hearing a response from the eggs.'
0:04:41 > 0:04:48I would make a turkey-like noise and I would hear distinct little peeps and shrills coming out of these eggs.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56But I had this problem.
0:04:56 > 0:05:0225 days after incubation begins the mother stops turning the eggs.
0:05:02 > 0:05:09But I have no idea when incubation started with these eggs so I had to just guess.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15But then, sure enough, cracks began to appear.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20This was a crucial time.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25This is the moment that the poults must recognise me as a parent.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Imprinting only occurs in these first moments out of the egg.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36And then suddenly the end of the egg fell away...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41..and this little poult fell out.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47And he's wet and he's confused and he's scrambling and it's obviously a desperate time.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Well, I finally remembered to make a sound.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55And I made my little turkey sound that I had been making to these eggs.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And the little turkey stopped immediately
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and his little shaking, wet head rotated,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and he looked me square in the eyes.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10And there was something very unambiguous transpired in that moment.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17And he identified me
0:06:17 > 0:06:20as the pair of eyes belonging to the correct voice.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28And in his way he stumbled and hopped across the floor of the incubator.
0:06:28 > 0:06:35And joined me at the edge of the shelf, and huddled up against my face and went to sleep.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42And something also moved inside of me, something very profound.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I realised that my involvement in this experiment
0:07:20 > 0:07:26was going to be a very personal, very emotional, ride for me,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and not just a science experiment.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50It had taken a day and a night, and I was exhausted,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54but I was finally mother to 16 wild turkeys.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29This all happened very suddenly and I hadn't really anticipated it.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34I more or less just disappeared into the forest.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46After a very few days I realised that this was a complete,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50100% relentless commitment that I had made to these birds and that,
0:08:50 > 0:08:57if I was going do this, I was going to have to be a wild turkey parent for some unknown period of time.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04I had no idea if this commitment would last weeks or months or,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06as it turned out, years.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I'm ignorant about being a turkey mother.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33What do they already know?
0:09:33 > 0:09:37And what do they need to learn from me?
0:09:46 > 0:09:52Today I actually tried to show them how to roost, although I suspect this is something they know already.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00It's important to understand these wild birds bear no resemblance to their domestic cousins.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04It's the difference between a pet dog and a wolf.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06These birds are so wild,
0:10:06 > 0:10:12if I leave them alone for any length of time, they will just run and run till they drop dead.
0:10:14 > 0:10:20I can already tell them apart, and there's this one I've called Sweet Pea.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24She's very little and likes to be held in the hand.
0:10:41 > 0:10:48I did have that feeling that this rat snake had literally been waiting on that moment.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13I was gone for a very short time. Grabbed a sandwich,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15came back out...
0:11:16 > 0:11:19There was a six-foot rat snake in the pen
0:11:19 > 0:11:24that had completely swallowed one of the young poults.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32And now could not get out of the pen, of course, because of the large lump in its body.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40I was horrified and the rest of the turkeys were horrified, and it was a terrible moment for all of us.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I realised that these birds absolutely cannot not be left alone.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50There are so many predators ready to strike these young birds,
0:11:50 > 0:11:56and I just had to make the commitment right there that I'm not going to leave them alone, ever.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21They're sort of born with a type of wisdom.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25They know things already, they don't have to learn.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36They are born entomologists, it's already there.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41They don't have to be taught which insect is dangerous, which one is palatable.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47They don't have to be taught which snake is harmless and which one is venomous.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50They know exactly.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02One bird I've started to call Turkey Boy is into everything.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06He's inquisitive and brave and he's going to be a handful.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11He's already beginning to display to other birds and he's only ten days old!
0:13:20 > 0:13:25In spite of this unusual kinship of wild birds and man,
0:13:25 > 0:13:30we're experiencing something that feels curiously normal.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Do they think I'm a turkey?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I was starting to understand how they perceived the world around them,
0:13:40 > 0:13:45but, still to this day, I wonder what they really thought of me.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53I wasn't sure what I had to teach them about the world, it's true,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58but I did know it was my job to help be their eyes and ears for danger.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05We left early.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10We walked not far from the pen because the turkeys were still very young,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and I sat down
0:14:13 > 0:14:18and they began busily feeding and doing what young wild turkeys do,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and eating grasshoppers, and chasing insects.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The birds started becoming real wild turkeys for one of the first times.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36And so I became a little bit drowsy
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and they were enjoying being young wild turkeys.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And suddenly there was an explosion, a blur of movement.
0:15:16 > 0:15:23I looked in front of me and a large hawk is mantling on the ground
0:15:23 > 0:15:25over one of my turkeys.
0:15:25 > 0:15:32His head rotates and looks me square in the eyes with these blazing amber eyes.
0:15:32 > 0:15:38So he exploded in flight, and when he did this lump fell to the ground,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42and I literally crawled over on my hands and knees and picked up this lifeless body.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48And I realised how imminent the threats were, and how dangerous this world was for them.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54Cos it's a tough world out there for a young wild turkey.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08I felt very responsible, and that I actually had allowed that to happen.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12My thoughtlessness had brought about the death of that young bird.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Up until now, it's been a full-time job just keeping them alive.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31But now my little experiment is really beginning to pay off.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00It seems as if a whole world is opening up to me.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08It's not just the birds I'm getting close to.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14Somehow they allow me passage into a secret side of these oak hammocks.
0:17:22 > 0:17:28The different birds' personalities are expressed in the way they explore the forest.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35They even seem to have their own individual interests.
0:17:35 > 0:17:41Sweet Pea and Rosita, for example, have a particular fascination with squirrels.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Turkey Boy met a deer today.
0:17:55 > 0:18:01I'm amazed how bold he is. He even walked and was nose-to-nose with it.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06They were absolutely unafraid, they absolutely knew this creature
0:18:06 > 0:18:09was a benevolent neighbour and not a potential predator.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15And I thought this was a remarkable discrimination,
0:18:15 > 0:18:22considering that a coyote, for example, is a tawny brown animal with big ears and an intense stare.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31When I'm with these turkeys, snakes no longer run from me.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Corralled by the birds, a rat snake now turns to face us.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46The turkeys know just how to deal with each species of snake.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59In spite of their innate knowledge about dangerous things,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03they're inherently disturbed by tortoises and turtles!
0:19:06 > 0:19:13They just won't leave them alone. I think maybe they view them as a snake in a box.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26As any turkey hunter can tell you, no two turkeys behave the same.
0:19:26 > 0:19:34I now know each of the birds by their character and personality as much as by their appearance.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Turkey Boy is still up to his old tricks.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42He's always pushing his brothers and sisters around, but no-one seems to mind too much.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Sweet Pea still has this need for closeness.
0:19:48 > 0:19:55She stares motionless at me for what seems a very long time and it's obviously a conscious behaviour,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59it's as though she is trying to absorb something.
0:19:59 > 0:20:07Being the object of such intense scrutiny by such a little thing is a very strange sensation.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15I'd have to stay with the birds all day, every day until sunset.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Then in the cage the birds would fly up to roost with me, and on me.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33And if I tried to leave the roost they would try to follow me,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37so I had to stay in the pen until it was completely dark.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Then they would fall sound asleep.
0:20:44 > 0:20:51But I had to be there from dawn until after dark every day, and there were no exceptions to that.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59As humans, we're born ignorant and helpless.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05We're these empty vessels that must be filled with years of experience and study.
0:21:05 > 0:21:12But these creatures are heir to tens of millions of years of an accumulated wisdom
0:21:12 > 0:21:17that's handed down directly from one to the next, defying mortality.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44They have the basic blueprint about all the plants and all the animals.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47It's incredibly complete.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50But what they don't understand is the lay of the land and that was what I knew.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I knew where the water was.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I knew where the dangers were to some extent.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09We didn't go in the direction of the road or to Farmer Rodenberry's house.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I tried to teach them that automobiles where a dangerous thing.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16That was very hard to do. Wild turkeys are a 20 million year old bird
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and they don't have a blueprint for an automobile or a pickup truck.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23In that sense, I taught them some things.
0:22:39 > 0:22:46I've been walking these oak hammocks for over 20 years and I had no idea how many rattlesnakes there were.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48I'd see maybe two or three in a year.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53Now, with these turkeys, we're were finding two or three every day!
0:22:57 > 0:23:03They would initiate their rattlesnake call, their very specific rattlesnake alarm call.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10It was very disturbing to me that, instead of fleeing the rattlesnake -
0:23:10 > 0:23:17that was not their strategy - that they almost displayed an obsession over the rattlesnakes.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Sweet Pea got a little too close for comfort.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29These large rattlesnakes are the one thing I fear for me and the birds.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35I try not to interfere
0:23:35 > 0:23:39but this one giant diamondback was just by the wood pile
0:23:39 > 0:23:41and I can't quite stop myself.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I'm just going to take her a few miles away.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Each day, as I leave the confines of my language and culture,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05these creatures seem to become in every way my superiors.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11They're more alert, sensitive and aware.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15They're in many ways, in fact, more intelligent.
0:24:15 > 0:24:21Their understanding of the forest is beyond my ability to comprehend.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35Turkeys displayed a type of obsession over the sight of a dead animal,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and they would revisit the sites very cautiously, and they would examine
0:24:39 > 0:24:45very closely, and occasionally they would actually pick up a bone.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Not in a playful way, but in a curious way,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and drop it.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56They would observe the skeleton very intensely.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00And it seemed that they never tired of examining
0:25:00 > 0:25:07this dead animal and trying to understand what the implication of that was.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14That behaviour does not facilitate survival directly.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18It's not about predation, it's not about food,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21it's about understanding the world.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29They had a perfect memory of what that entire forest was supposed to look like.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36If any object was out of order, if a new limb had fallen out of a tree,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39they would find that limb very disturbing.
0:25:39 > 0:25:45They would approach a stump of a fallen tree or a rotted tree,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and that was a fascinating thing as most things are to wild turkeys.
0:25:52 > 0:26:00But interestingly, when we approached a very old stump of a tree that had been sawn down by loggers,
0:26:00 > 0:26:05something about that was very disturbing to a wild turkey.
0:26:07 > 0:26:14I thought it was a fabulous and interesting response but I don't know why.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18But here was a stump that had been cut 10, 15, 20 years before,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and yet there was something not right about that.
0:26:21 > 0:26:27And the turkeys would find it very interesting and actually disturbing.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I was always a very anxious mother hen,
0:26:48 > 0:26:54and, of course, having not done this before, I never knew the right time for things.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58One night we came in from our usual on a daily walk
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and I expected them to enter the pen like so many times before,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and suddenly their behaviour changed.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16And they started eyeing the trees and making sounds.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21And, suddenly, a turkey flew up into a tree.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26And another turkey flew up and they all began flying up,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and I realised that they had made this decision
0:27:29 > 0:27:33that it was time to start roosting in the trees like turkeys.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37And they were making contented vocalisations like turkeys
0:27:37 > 0:27:43do when they go on the roost, little communication noises, "Here I am, where are you? OK, there you are."
0:27:45 > 0:27:50I was feeling a little bit let down, and a little bit like I had been excluded.
0:27:50 > 0:27:56This was one turkey activity I couldn't participate in and I felt like I'd been left out.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59And I went out feeling insecure,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and I made a little turkey noise, a little mother hen noise.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04HE MIMICS TURKEY
0:28:04 > 0:28:08And suddenly everybody chattered.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10"Here we are, everything is OK."
0:28:36 > 0:28:42Turkeys in general have this misplaced reputation for stupidity.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45This experiment of mine has proven quite the opposite.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50There are many things that suggest wild turkeys are intelligent,
0:28:50 > 0:28:57but my experience with learning their vocabulary has taught me how profound this intelligence actually is.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01You have to be this close to a creature
0:29:01 > 0:29:04to understand how it communicates.
0:29:08 > 0:29:15And in fact they have specific vocalisations for individual animals.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17And I actually learned these vocalisations,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20and, when I would hear a certain vocalisation,
0:29:20 > 0:29:26I would know without question they had found a rattlesnake and not a grey rat snake.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37I've identified over 30 specific calls
0:29:37 > 0:29:40and my vocabulary is growing every day.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43I'm learning to talk turkey.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48HE MAKES TURKEY CALLS
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Interestingly, I learned that within each one of those calls
0:29:57 > 0:30:01there are inflections that have very different meanings.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05For example, one would be what is known as a purr.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07HE MAKES PURRING SOUND
0:30:08 > 0:30:11HE MAKES PURRING SOUND
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Many different meanings, depending on the inflection.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18From, simply, "Here I am, where are you?"
0:30:18 > 0:30:20to, "Catastrophe is on the way."
0:30:22 > 0:30:25A simple, plain yelp that a hen might do,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28a very crude approximation would be...
0:30:28 > 0:30:30HE MAKES RAPID YELPS
0:30:31 > 0:30:35That would mean, "You're out of sight now and need to come closer."
0:30:36 > 0:30:41When turkeys see a hawk soaring in the distance,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and they're not really disturbed by the hawk soaring
0:30:44 > 0:30:47but they want everybody to know it's there,
0:30:47 > 0:30:52they emit what I called a low nasal whine. An ascending whine.
0:30:52 > 0:30:53And it's...
0:30:53 > 0:30:56HE MAKES NASAL WHINE SOUND
0:30:57 > 0:31:02and it causes everyone to be still and very quiet.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05HE WHISTLES
0:31:09 > 0:31:13I didn't have the capacity to understand every vocalisation...
0:31:14 > 0:31:19..but somehow I had the capacity to understand their meaning
0:31:19 > 0:31:22and that was an almost magical thing that occurred
0:31:22 > 0:31:24with these young birds.
0:31:37 > 0:31:43Their language and their understanding of the ecology shows a remarkable intelligence.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45But their ability to understand the world
0:31:45 > 0:31:48goes much further than just communication.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58I came to realise that these young turkeys
0:31:58 > 0:32:02in many ways were more conscious than I was.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09And I actually felt a sort of embarrassment
0:32:09 > 0:32:12when I was in their presence. They were so in the moment.
0:32:14 > 0:32:22And, ultimately, their experience of that manifested into the kind of joy that I don't experience.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25And I was very envious of that.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42In search of a grasshopper.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45It's a calling as strong as any I have ever known.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50They're almost three months old
0:32:50 > 0:32:54and I find myself a fully fledged member of a turkey gang.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00We raid the field like ancient marauding barbarians.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Insects can hop or run away
0:33:06 > 0:33:09but they're likely to land at the feet of another.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14This is a strategy that must occur with turkeys everywhere.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23This is innate communication unlike any I've ever known.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I feel a little like an anthropologist
0:33:26 > 0:33:29who after immersing himself in an exotic tribe
0:33:29 > 0:33:32is becoming confused about his own social identity.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36I haven't started eating grasshoppers yet
0:33:36 > 0:33:40but the smooth green ones are beginning to look pretty tasty!
0:34:01 > 0:34:04It's hard work being a turkey.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11And, as mother, I don't get much me-time.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18And Sweet Pea's getting heavier by the day.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Affection is a very abstract concept anyway and very hard to talk about.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44And yet I was observing this, everyday.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49This need for these turkeys to be touched and for closeness.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55And so, in that sense, wild turkeys are very affectionate
0:34:55 > 0:34:58and they are very tactile.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I saw it most profoundly in Sweet Pea.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05From very early on, Sweet Pea had this overwhelming desire,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09to be close and to be touching at all times.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12And there was never a time when I was sitting on the ground
0:35:12 > 0:35:14when Sweet Pea wasn't in my lap.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17And if I sat there, Sweet Pea would go to sleep
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and she expected to be stroked and coddled.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23And it was a very interesting relationship.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25And, of course, I fell for it hook, line and sinker
0:35:25 > 0:35:28and just fell head over heels in love with Sweet Pea.
0:35:32 > 0:35:38Affection is something you would never anticipate or expect from wild turkeys
0:35:38 > 0:35:40and yet it was very apparent
0:35:40 > 0:35:43that this was a very important part of their social life.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47CROW SQUAWKS
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Today, I lost two birds to some unknown illness
0:35:56 > 0:35:58and I feel heartbroken.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03There is no question about my connection to this family.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07And there's no question we all feel some deep sadness.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09The effect on the group is palpable.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17Emotions are certainly not peculiar to the human experience.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22In their observation of death -
0:36:22 > 0:36:26the death of another turkey that is a member of their group -
0:36:26 > 0:36:29it's a very conscious behaviour,
0:36:29 > 0:36:34as if they are trying to understand what the meaning of this is.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41THUNDER CLAPS
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Shelter from the rain on my porch of my hut
0:37:14 > 0:37:17is one of the few perks these birds have gotten
0:37:17 > 0:37:19from having such an odd parent.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28It seems a long time has passed
0:37:28 > 0:37:31since I tended these birds from the egg.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Today, we came across another six-foot diamondback.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20It could be the same one I took from the woodpile months ago.
0:38:21 > 0:38:27They say that rattlesnakes can find their way home from long distances.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30This time I have no fear whatsoever for the birds, though.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34And there's no question who's in charge now.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Sweet Pea and Rosita were insistent.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53They wanted to escort this rattlesnake out of the area.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04The non-venomous indigo snake got an even closer inspection from Turkey Boy.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13This kind of intense interaction is born from a desire
0:39:13 > 0:39:17to remain in touch with a possible predator.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22Although, sometimes it does feel like it's become a bit of a game for them.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37I had never considered that the wild turkey was a playful bird...
0:39:38 > 0:39:40..but, in fact, they are playful.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45They are curious about things
0:39:45 > 0:39:48that don't benefit their survival directly.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02The white-tailed deer has fawned late this year
0:40:02 > 0:40:07and, as always, Turkey Boy is vying for some reaction.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10But, this time, he's bitten off more than he can chew.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17The young deer can give as good as she gets.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Sweet Pea's favourite is far more amiable.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42The fox squirrel seems to want to play as much as she does.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52There's no question in my mind
0:40:52 > 0:40:55that these birds experience joy in their lives.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18But, still to this day,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21they can't quite figure out that snake-in-a-box.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36I was learning new things about turkeys every day.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40But this was not just about how they lived their life.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44These animals were showing me how to live my life also.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51We do not have a privileged access to reality.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05So many of us live either in the past or in the future
0:42:05 > 0:42:06and betray the moment.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18And, in some sense, we forget to live our lives.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24And the wild turkeys were always reminding me to live my life.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31I think as humans we have this peculiar predisposition
0:42:31 > 0:42:37to be always thinking ahead and living a little bit in the future,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41anticipating the next minute, the next hour, the next day,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43and we betray the moment.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46And wild turkeys don't do that.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54They are convinced that everything that they need,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57all their needs will be met ONLY in the present moment
0:42:57 > 0:42:59and in this space.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04And the world is not better a half a mile through the woods,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08it's not better an hour from now and it's not better tomorrow.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10But this is as good as it gets.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17And so, they constantly reminded me to do that.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22And to not live in this abstraction of the future,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25which by definition will never exist.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And so, we sort of betray our lives in the moment.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33And the wild turkeys reminded me to be present. To be here.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54For over a year, day after day, we never saw another human being.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56But I was never alone.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Actually, I've never kept better company.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02We share very similar interests,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06snakes, frogs, birds and interesting artefacts
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and that's sort of what I'm all about.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I learned many things,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17but maybe the most important, was that we're essentially unaware
0:44:17 > 0:44:23of the overwhelming complexity that exists all around us.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26I'll never see the world in the same way again.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34We were all learning together but I can sense they need me less and less each day.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38One day soon, I know, I'll walk home alone.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45It was late afternoon, I was sitting in the thick forest with Sweet Pea.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50We suddenly realised that there were no turkeys around us.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51We started looking,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54we realised that there were no turkeys in the area.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Sweat Pea became very concerned.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01She actually started lost calling.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25We walked maybe a quarter of a mile,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28and finally we saw turkeys up in the distance.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30I thought this was really strange.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38And I decided, OK, we're going to head back towards home.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41I turned to leave, no-one followed me.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47In fact, they started heading out in the opposite direction.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51In fact there was a farm in that direction, that had yard dogs,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55all sorts of things that we didn't want to encounter.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59And I could not get the birds to listen to me, they would not follow,
0:45:59 > 0:46:01for the first time ever.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I became very disturbed.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09And I lost called and all the vocalisations I need to employ.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15They would chatter acknowledgement, but they wouldn't follow me.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17And by this time, I was just a nervous wreck,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20I was exhausted, I didn't know what was going on.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25I thought, I've lost these birds, I'm not going to be able to get them back.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I did not want this to end like this.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Eventually, I tried the same technique.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38Got out in front and finally they started veering off.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44It took hours, to get the turkeys turned in the direction of home.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49But I realised that everything was different now.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55The life that we had known for the last six or nine months had changed.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59Now I would have to do things their way.
0:46:59 > 0:47:06And they were from that point on, fully wild turkeys that came and went as they pleased.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09They allowed me to accompany them,
0:47:09 > 0:47:11but I was no longer the parent.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I was just another bird.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Wild turkeys grow up fast and I knew my days with them were numbered.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40But these turkeys had taught me not to betray the moment
0:47:40 > 0:47:43for some abstraction up ahead.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Once again, I'm a man in search of a grasshopper.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01It's a calling as strong as any I've ever known.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05This makes me wonder sometimes if I've gotten in too deep.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04The peace is being broken more and more each day.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12It's not just Turkey Boy - now all the males practice displaying,
0:49:12 > 0:49:14getting ready to do battle.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24The males will need to fight their way to the next stage of their lives.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Only the toughest will get to mate.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37And as these practice bouts show,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40when the real fighting starts, it'll be ferocious.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51As I looked on, I had no way of knowing how I was going to be
0:49:51 > 0:49:54a part of this rite of passage.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31It's over a year into the project,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34and I'm starting to see the birds less and less.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42It's natural for the young jakes to move away from the group
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and the hens too should be disappearing soon.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50But I can't help but feel a deep sadness.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Day after day, they've been my only company.
0:50:54 > 0:51:00Sweet Pea still stays close by and Turkey Boy remains the closest of friends,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02but some of the others are drifting away.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27And then something very special happened.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Sweet Pea started nesting nearby.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33If she hatches her brood with me here,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35it could start a whole new avenue of research.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39A new access to the reality of the wild turkey.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46I had notions of possibly being able to do
0:51:46 > 0:51:48a partial imprinting thing on her brood,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52where they would accept my company without being disturbed.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57I thought that would be a new and interesting perspective.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05Eventually, Sweet Pea didn't show up one day.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08I thought, "She's hatched her babies."
0:52:11 > 0:52:15Eventually, I thought, "Well, I'll go and inspect her nest site."
0:52:17 > 0:52:21I went there and immediately saw feathers.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27I realised that, Sweet Pea, had in fact been killed on the nest
0:52:27 > 0:52:31and eggs were crushed and destroyed and partially eaten.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36It was a very disturbing moment, heart breaking.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42It made me realise how deep my involvement was with these birds.
0:53:02 > 0:53:08But when everyone left, Turkey Boy was the one who eventually came back.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12And once he did, he never wanted to leave.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18And so we developed an incredible companionship.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21It was clear I was no longer this wild turkey's parent.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25We had actually become brothers.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30I've spent a lifetime studying wild animals,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33bears, primates.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36I don't think I've ever had a close communication,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39with an animal like I had with Turkey Boy.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41It was truly phenomenal.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45I recognised this and spent every available minute
0:53:45 > 0:53:49I could with him, because I felt like it was such a rare opportunity.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56The depth of our relationship and the extraordinary communication we had,
0:53:56 > 0:54:01and yet Turkey Boy had the ability to convey to me
0:54:01 > 0:54:07very specific meanings about what he wanted to do, what he expected from me,
0:54:07 > 0:54:11where he wanted to go, how he wanted to spend his day.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14The communication was very complete,
0:54:14 > 0:54:16it's pretty remarkable with a man and a bird.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Unlike anything I'd ever experienced.
0:54:32 > 0:54:37Of course it was inevitable that all this was going to end.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Turkey brothers stay together.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43But as a human, of course, I had to return to my own species.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52But nothing could have prepared me for the ferocity of what came next.
0:54:56 > 0:55:02I happened to look up and Turkey Boy's face was right next to my face.
0:55:04 > 0:55:10He was just glowing with these vivid colours of purple and red and blue.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13And he had a fierce look in his eye, predatory look.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18I thought that was strange.
0:55:18 > 0:55:24I reached out my hand and he pecked it at the back of my hand and actually drew blood.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27I didn't hit him, I just pushed him back,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29with my hand on his breast, "Get back!"
0:55:31 > 0:55:33And that was the trigger.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38Suddenly he understood what our relationship should truly be as brothers.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41And he immediately attacked me.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46And he jumped up and he spurred me in the back,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48and gouged me, really hurt me.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54He jumped up at my face, which is really dangerous,
0:55:54 > 0:55:58they can blind you with their big pointed spurs.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09I was bleeding, my ear was bleeding, the back of my hands were bleeding.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14So I jumped back up, I grabbed this branch and I swung as hard as I could...
0:56:17 > 0:56:23..hitting Turkey Boy on the side of the head which literally knocked him down.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27He got up, he turned around and he ran out of sight,
0:56:27 > 0:56:29as fast as he could run.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38And that was the last time I saw Turkey Boy.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49For weeks and months, I'd go out into our old area.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53I'd go there and sit for hours sometimes,
0:56:53 > 0:56:58fully expecting for someone to walk in, a familiar face.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00And, uh, no-one ever came.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07In fact, their absence seemed to change the ecology entirely.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10The rattlesnakes seemed to disappear.
0:57:11 > 0:57:19I realised that the turkeys had afforded me this privileged experience,
0:57:19 > 0:57:24this insight into their world that had finally closed its doors to me.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:20 > 0:58:23E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk.