Wild turkeys and Right whales

These wild turkeys took a leisurely stroll through the lawn beyond the window that is behind my computer table.  When I came out with camera in hand, the Tom in charge flared his tail feather and mooned me. He gabbled to his harem to move on; they did. The grass had turned brown but some of them seemed to be finding tasty tidbits, whether vegetable or insect, I don't know. 

Cape Cod has been infested with wild turkeys; most groups seem to be about this size--6 to 10 although I've heard of larger groups and frequently see a group of four at the Community College campus. They are fearless about crossing roads and frequently stop traffic.  Some people say they can be territorial and a bit dangerous. I have not witnessed anything but minding their own business.

For many years I thought wild turkeys were extinct; but for most of that time I lived in a city and not in the an area that is highly built up but still has large tracts of wooded area and many individual homes have sizable yards.  I fear running into one on a small street but enjoy seeing them. In this era of global warming many species are disappearing but, strange to say, some, like the turkeys are thriving. I supposed that's the give and take of major changes in our atmosphere and use of the land.

This morning the news reported that nearly all of the 450 right whales -- in existence!! -- are settled in Cape Cod Bay for the winter.  During the last six or eight months 17 have died. Nearly all due to entanglement in fishing nets and lines or due to encounters with boats' propellers. Cape Cod Bay is not a very large body of water.  The inlet/outlet is at the far eastern end of the Cape, where Provincetown sits. There are many pleasure boats, several whale watch boats, some fishing boats that use use the harbor regularly but it is unsuited to large boats. The  only larger boats go from the outer side of the Cape -- the big ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and yachts and larger fishing vessels. The whales should be save in the harbor.  I do not know the many other pertinent facts about their lives -- the reproduction rates and so on -- but the end of the news feature said that extinction is the only likely outcome for these whales.

They were given the name "right" whales during the orgy of whaling 150 years ago. They were the specie that was most advantageous to kill because when they died they did not sink into the depths of the ocean but floated, thus making it easy for the whaling ships to pull them along side, extract their blubbler and oil and then they would sink. So they were hunted most ferociously. Thus the needs if civilization (so called) take their toll.