The New Jersey Turnpike turkey has been captured and is being taken to a safer locale: a zoo in Ocean County, officials said.
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Tom Feeney, a New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman, said state wildlife officers captured the turkey, named Tammy by Turnpike employees, on Wednesday morning. The wild gobbler liked to hang out near the toll plaza at Exit 14B in Jersey City, The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.
Tony McBride, principal biologist at the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, told the newspaper he used a shoulder-held net gun to catch the bird.
"It was hard to do,'' he said. "If you had nothing in your hand, you could walk right up to her, but when she saw that net gun, she didn't want to go anywhere near me. The turkey realized how good it had it here and it didn't seem like it wanted to leave."
But, he added, life at a toll plaza can be dangerous for a turkey, especially after Tammy's fame grew and people stopped to look at her.