Researchers study turkey and predators

Two Mississippi State researchers are investigating the ways that predators such as raccoons, bobcats, gray foxes, and coyotes affect wild turkey populations.

George Hurst and Bruce Leopold, both of the College of Forest Resources' Forest and Wildlife Research Center, have received funding from the National Wild Turkey Federation for two projects. Total funding of $46,000 will support a study at the Tallahalla Wildlife Management Area and one in the Delta region.

Mississippi has an annual harvest of about 40,000 gobblers, making it among the nation's top four states for turkey hunting.