Turkey Consciousness

Naturalist Joe Hutto, who raised a flock of imprinted turkeys, says that they are extremely smart and aware communicators.

“But their ability to understand the world goes much further than just communication. I came to realize that these young turkeys in many ways were more conscious than I was”

In this nature video, he replays the experiment from his book Illumination in the Flatwoods. He raises a bunch of wild turkeys, allowing them to imprint on him so that he's their parent. The exercise—which must have taken total commitment for the better part of a year—gives us a rare insight into the umwelt of some very impressive wild animals.