"Close call for the wild turkey"

[steelheader]

Read your article above in T&TH. Before the near decimation of the wild turkeys were the subspecies present in their prsent general locations?  Or in their low numbers could populations separated from each other develop different color phases that are now named as subspecies?

[Lovett]

steelheader,

To answer your first question. The genome has been scrambled.  Eastern turkeys from different parts of the country and been shipped other parts of the country in the restocking programs.  There is no resemblance to original genome, however, the Eastern population still resembles Meleagris gallopavo silvestris. 

The Osceola, Rio Grande, Gould's populations are closer to the original stock, genetics wise.  Merriam's was introduced into the Four Corners region by cliff dwelling Indians about 1,600 years ago and nobody knows where they came from but they probably came from a semi domesticated strain in Mexico.

To answer second question: No.  That's not how different subspecies developed.

This is discussed in my recent book Wild Turkey Hunting & Management.