What do you do when you see a wild flock of turkeys in Boston? Get ready for a fight. These funny-looking birds have come back—to attack!

Wild turkeys lived all over New England more than 100 years ago. They made their homes at the edges of forests. But then people cleared woods for farmland and suburbs. Wild turkeys vanished. Around 1970, people released 31 turkeys in Rutland County, Vermont. Those turkeys have a lot of turkey descendants now—around 50,000! Turkeys have also come back in droves to nearby states like Massachusetts.

Actually, they didn’t come back in droves. They came back in gangs (the correct word for a group of turkeys). And they act like gangs too! As turkeys wander into cities in big numbers, they peck and scratch people walking by. They block traffic, destroy gardens, and scrape cars.

Meeting a wild turkey isn’t quite the same as meeting the kind of farmed turkey you may have gnawed on this Thanksgiving. Wild turkeys are much stronger. They move faster. Wild male turkeys love to challenge other turkeys. They attack them to prove their power. The trouble is, they go after people too!

The turkey comeback is great news . . . for turkeys. But some people in Boston have their doubts. Boston city officials say they got at least 60 complaints about turkeys last year. That’s three times more than the year before.

Want to avoid a turkey attack? Here’s some expert advice. Don’t feed turkeys. Putting food out says, “Come over to my neighborhood. Stay all winter!” And if you ever do meet a turkey in the street, don’t back down. Step forward. Act like you’re as tough as he is—even if you’re shaking in your snow boots.