A Minnesota turkey has been terrorizing a neighborhood for more than a year, causing residents to carry makeshift weapons to protect themselves.
Rachel Gross, 41, of Coon Rapids, never knows what to expect when she leaves her house, but she always carries a broom, water bottle and golf club as a precaution after the large bird perched on her roof fell on top of her in 2021.
Gladys, who showed up in the trailer park just before Thanksgiving that year, appears to be getting revenge for its ancestors with a little fowl play.
When she goes blue in the face, residents know it’s time to run, as she has entered ‘attack mode’ and will do just about anything to peck at terrified victims.
Miss Gladys has drawn blood, pecked at tires, attacked cats, and even rode to Chipotle on the back of Gross’ husband’s truck.
‘This turkey attacks me every single day, [it] follows me,’ Gross told CNN. ‘The kids that walk to the bus stop every morning, I have to come out and help them, but now they’re smart and carry sticks.’
‘It’s here 24/7. It thinks I’m his mom or something,’ Gross told the Washington Post.
Rachel Gross, 41, of Coon Rapids, (pictured) never knows what to expect when she leaves her house, but she always carries ‘my broom and my water bottle and my golf club everywhere with me’
Gladys the Turkey showed up just before Thanksgiving in 2021 and hasn’t left the neighborhood alone since
Emily Ahlsten, who also lives nearby, worries about her one-year-old granddaughter that just moved in with her.
‘I’m afraid to even take her outside,’ Ahlsten told CNN. ‘Especially when the weather gets nice, you know, we can’t have people over, we can’t have a barbeque.’
The neighborhood has tried everything to get Gladys to leave them alone, from calling the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the police to taking down bird feeders.
Gross and Ahlsten said they don’t want to harm the turkey but want it to trot to a new home.
‘I would just like it to be relocated to a place where it can live with other turkeys and be happier and it’s not going to be a nuisance to people or potentially hurt somebody,’ Ahlsten told CNN.
Gross agreed, saying Gladys is ‘lonely and I feel bad, but why can’t they just relocate this bird. Please,’ she begged.
She has been dealing with the unusual pest since 2021, when it dropped down from her roof and forced her to the ground when she returned home after grocery shopping.
She claimed the beast ripped off her jacket, scattered her carton of eggs, coffee, and other items across her lawn.
Since then, she has repeatedly asked wildlife authorities to come get the bird and relocate it, but she told the Washington Post that they have so far refused to do so.
‘I can’t even have peace,’ she said. ‘I’m pretty stressed out and pretty anxious all the time.’
Gross (left) and Emily Ahlsten (right), both carrying brooms, worry about the children in the neighborhood, who have since taken to carrying sticks to the bus stop to fend off the wild beast. Ahlsten’s one-year-old granddaughter just moved in with her and she’s scared to take her outside because of Gladys
Gladys pecks at tires, chases residents, and gobbles at them menacingly
Do you think she wants a chicken burrito bowl? Gladys has even ridden on the back of Gross’ husband’s truck (pictured) to Chipotle as she’s made a new home for herself on their property
She even chased Gross around her car as the terrified woman sprayed water at her, but she was undeterred
Gross has captured several videos of the turkey’s terrors, from the time she was trapped in her home as Gladys stood dauntingly outside her front door, to the time it was undeterred as she sprayed it in the face with water.
‘Get! Somebody help me, somebody help me!’ she can be heard yelling in one of the videos.
In another video, she showed the turkey begin to stalk toward her as she nervously said: ‘Get away, don’t! Get away, get away, get away! If I let him get close – oh my God, he’s going to attack me. Got to get my shovel.’
Gross continued to back up to her front steps as she yelled at her new neighbor who just gobbles at her at the bottom of the stairs.
Despite daily terror provided by the bird, Gross said she has seen corn strewn around the neighborhood, leading her to think someone is feeding Gladys.
She also drawn blood and harmed other residents, even knocking Groom to the ground and ripping off her jacket when she first arrived
Gladys has interrupted the neighborhood’s life for more than a year, canceling Halloween in 2021, forcing residents to cancel summer parties and cookouts, and leaving visitors scared to approach their relatives’ homes.
‘I’m so exhausted,’ Gross told the Post. ‘I hope this gets a solution and somebody comes to help, so I don’t have to deal with this anymore.’
All Gross wants is a ‘peaceful summer’ where she and her relatives can ‘actually have a barbecue and just relax.’
However, DNR Wildlife Manager Scott Noland told the Washington Post that just removing the turkey isn’t easy and it’s a last resort.
‘We don’t want to do it right away in situations like this,’ he told the Post.
When wildlife officials have to come in and remove a turkey because it’s harming people, they often end up killing the bird and serving it as food.
With Coon Rapids residents not wanting to kill the bird, they might just have to make room for havoc in the neighborhood.
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