Aggressive Turkey Stalks and Terrorizes Detroit Woman Every Day

The creature, nicknamed Godzilla, believes the woman's yard belongs to him, and he's taken a stand.

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What would you do if a neighbor were constantly lurking in your yard, waiting for you to leave your house and even, on occasion, physically assaulting you? Okay, now what if that neighbor were a turkey?

Edna Geisler, 69, has been forced to confront that very issue. For the past month, a wild turkey has been stalking her every day at her home on the outskirts of Detroit. She’s become so familiar with the 25-pound bird that she’s even given him a name: Godzilla.

Geisler said Godzilla begins to guard her car around 7 a.m. each day, preventing her from getting in. He even chases her to the front door of her house, flying at her chest and occasionally grasping at her with his claw. Geisler’s friend, Rick Reid, told the Detroit Free Press the bird once bit him on the elbow.

(LIST: 10 Things You Didn’t (Need to) Know About Turkeys)

After a recent trip to the grocery store, the turkey kept Geisler from entering her house to put her items away. “I had to go next door to the neighbors and have him use a push broom to keep him away while I brought the groceries in,” she told the Free Press.

The creature is a mature tom turkey who likely believes Geisler’s front yard rightfully belongs to him. He usually spends daytime hours guarding the property, then retreating into the woods behind Geisler’s house after sundown. Tim Payne, a wildlife supervisor for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told the Free Press that adult turkeys become aggressive when defending their territory. In this case, he said Godzilla was likely fed by humans at one point, losing his fear of them and becoming even more prone to attacking them.

Geisler’s one wish? Get the turkey taken away. She wants him gone by summer so she can work in her garden without fearing for her life. He’s already caused her enough distress.

“Every time I eat turkey, I smile,” she told the Free Press. “I’d like to do that to him.”

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