Where's Boris? Bush turkey pops up at Smith's Hill High

By Michele Tydd
Updated November 5 2012 - 10:41pm, first published September 30 2009 - 10:54am
Boris the bush turkey made an appearance at Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong yesterday, surprising students Mary Dijkmans-Hadley, 12, and Kyle Jackson, 12. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO
Boris the bush turkey made an appearance at Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong yesterday, surprising students Mary Dijkmans-Hadley, 12, and Kyle Jackson, 12. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO
Where's Boris? Bush turkey pops up at Smith's Hill High
Where's Boris? Bush turkey pops up at Smith's Hill High

It's spring and Boris the bush turkey is earning a name for himself as he searches the city for a mate.First he was seen hanging about a Wollongong bottle shop before he took off in the lunchtime crowd.And now, a week later, he has gone looking for a better class of female at Smith's Hill High School for the academically gifted.

  • Wild Turkey finds refuge at city bottloHe was discovered at the school on Tuesday, and yesterday was taking part in his version of a maths extension course - sitting just outside a classroom of Year 7s as they delved into the mysteries of algebra."He seems to be quite at ease among the kids here," deputy principal Ian Walker said."We first noticed him two days ago up a tree on the western side of the school and he later moved to the eastern side where there's a plentiful supply of leaves."Teacher Kay Elliott, who had Boris stick his beak into one of her classes, said the school had become a bit of a refuge for displaced animals."Some say it's the drought ... in the past week we've had an ibis and now the bush turkey wandering among the leaf litter," she said.WIRES was called to the school to take the turkey back to its natural habitat. Bush turkeys are found on the Illawarra escarpment and in some leafy suburbs such as Mangerton.The males like to spend their days building leaf mounds in preparation for the mating season so they have a place for their offspring to hatch.
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