In case you haven’t seen it, you should Google “turkeys circling dead cat” and behold video evidence of an oddity of nature to the utmost.
Basically, a guy captured video of a sizable group of turkeys (a rafter, gang, flock – whatever) walking in a circle around the carcass of a dead cat lying in the middle of a paved road in the Boston area. It has gone wild online, and everyone and their brother is chiming in with theories or comments about what’s going on.
Of course, multiple “experts” had to share their two cents, some indicating it was some sort of unusual behavior spurred by the close proximity of a predator and others saying the birds may have followed a leader who was simply checking out the situation and gotten “caught” in a continuous line that formed behind him.
All I know is the scene is outlandishly and awesomely offbeat, regardless of what the explanation is for what’s happening.
The guy who shot the video had a good theory. He said the turkeys were trying to give the cat its 10th life.
I (of course) have other theories. And for the record, I recommend that all you animal rights activists save your cards and letters for a bigger, real issue, because I’ve been a cat fan all my life and I know there’s nothing funny about a dead one. It’s the turkeys that have my attention here.
Anyway, maybe the turkeys are all conservatives and the cat was a sacrificial liberal (oh, sorry, that’s “progressive”).
Maybe the cat was an Atlanta Falcons fan and keeled over in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Obviously, the turkeys are New England Patriots fans. They’re probably quietly chanting, “Brady is the best” as they revolve about the kitty carcass.
Ah, but perhaps the turkeys are playing musical cats and the song blaring in the background is “What’s New Pussycat” by Tom Jones. I only wish I could see the mayhem that ensues when the song stops.
Then again, the cat might actually have been the leader of a clandestine turkey cult, and the big birds are mourning their loss.
And let us not overlook the possibility that the Russians were somehow involved, and that there’s some wide-ranging ramification attached to the turkeys’ behavior. Remember, there were people who claimed the Russians steered Katrina straight at New Orleans, so we have to surmise that anything is (allegedly) possible with Putin and Company.
As a friend of mine said, we should also pay close attention to how the birds are circling in a clockwise direction around the feline remains.
He said clockwise represents moving forward in time, and helping move the cat to its eternal happy hunting ground while making the journey easy and painless. Conversely, a counterclockwise parade-o-turkeys would mean they’re trying to turn time back and bringing the poor kitty back to life so maybe it gets to rethink what brought on its death and make a different, less mortally dangerous decision (hmm, that sounds kind of cultish…).
Either way, one wonders what turkeys might know that we humans don’t know? I’ve never seen anyone at a visitation or funeral pacing around the casket – clockwise or counterclockwise (and that’s probably best, don’t you think?).
Whatever the case, I’m going to say that what’s going on in the video is weird. As someone said in an online comment, it’s like the dead cat was about to be beamed up and a whirling light was about to appear inside the turkey circle (you know, kind of like the one that appeared over Norway in December 2009, only far smaller).
In closing, I quest that anyone who sees this going on in Texas County let me know, because I hope to get there in time with my photographic and video gear. But believe me, I’ll be on guard the whole time.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.