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The Domestic Turkey and the First Thanksgiving

10,000 Birds

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

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The Emotional Lives of Animals

4 The Love Of Animals

In June 2006, Jane and I visited a chimpanzee sanctuary near Girona, Spain. These birds can learn to pull a string to retrieve a short stick, use the stick to pull out a longer one, then use the long stick to draw out a piece of meat. Stories about animals rescuing members of their own and other species, including humans, abound.

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