mother turkeys are extremely protective of her chicks. oddly enough though, mother only respond to the "cheep-cheep" sound baby turkeys make - not by sight, smell, touch, or anything else. on hearing the "cheep-cheep" sound, mother turkeys will gather the chick under her wing to protect and comfort it. if a mother turkey feels the need to become defensive though, her attacks are absolutely vicious. these attacks are extremeley violent displays of rage often involving squawking, pecking, clawing, etc., and these responses are so ingrained that even a stuffed polecat will ellicit an attack.

hm.. so what do you think happens when a stuffed polecat is implanted with a recording of the "cheep-cheep" sound? haha. oh, what a contradictory idea! what a quandary!... but rest your anxious souls. animal behaviorist, m.w. fox, actually did this experiment and found that mother turkeys will actually welcome the stuffed polecat into its brood if it can produce the "cheep-cheep" sound of baby turkeys.

what the goofy?