While it would not seem the turkey has a whole lot to be thankful for, what with being carved up and devoured on Thanksgiving, guess again.The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protectionnwtf.orgWhen the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) was founded in 1973, there were only approximately 1.5 million wild turkeys in North America, according to its website, Turkey Talkguinessworldrecords.comThe greatest dressed weight recorded for a turkey is 86 pounds for a stag named Tyson, reared by Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys Ltd, Peterborough, United Kingdom, according to livescience.comIt is possible the turkey's ancestor was even bigger than that record-setter. According to eatturkey.comAccording to Peta2.comTofurkey is one of many vegan/vegetarian "turkey" products on the market. Crafted from seasoned tofu, a soy product, and filled with a grain stuffing, it is a suitable alternative for the nonturkey partakers at the Thanksgiving Day table. National Wild Turkey Federation's Wild Turkey Sounds pageWhen you are done gobbling down leftover turkey, you can learn a lot more about the bird online, and even listen to all the sounds made by the wild turkey on the

Tom turkeys, as much as your brother Tom, have reason to give thanks. Wild turkeys in Connecticut, and other states for that matter, can be appreciative that they are here, given their recent past.

(DEEP) reports that wild turkeys were abundant in Connecticut when settlers first arrived. But forest clearing and severe winters eliminated the turkey from the state by the early 1800s. Attempts to restore the turkey population through artificial propagation from the 1950s through early 1970s were largely unsuccessful. A breakthrough took place when free-roaming wild turkeys were live-captured and relocated using a rocket net, a type of animal trap that captures a group of animals at a time. Between 1975 and 1992 more than 350 wild turkeys were released at 18 sites throughout Connecticut. The releases and subsequent population expansion has resulted in the restoration of wild turkeys in all 169 Connecticut towns.

This success has led the state to assist others in their turkey restoration efforts. Between 1987 and 1997, Connecticut provided 188 birds to other states including: Maine (101), Louisiana (17), North Carolina (51), and Texas (19).

. After 40 years of effort to increase the amount of gobblers, that number reached a historic high of about 6.7 million turkeys.

Today, however, turkey numbers are down and are estimated at around 6 to 6.2 million birds. The NWTF website reports that researchers found possible causes of the decline to be population densities not allowing hens access to quality nesting habitats, as well as vegetation measurements. The annual home range of wild turkeys varies from 370 to 1,360 acres and contains a mixture of trees and grass cover, according to the NWTF. Turkeys inhabit both open fields and wooded areas.

The male turkeys, Toms or stags, are darker in color than the females (hens), and have a hairlike beard protruding from their breast, but a small percentage of hens, too, have beards. Turkeys spend much of their time walking around but do fly - they run 25 miles per hour and fly more than 55 mph. That is like speeding along the back roads; but this time of year who can blame the bird?

The Eastern wild turkey is described by the Connecticut DEEP as being a majestic bird, adult males weighing between 15 and 25 pounds and females ranging from 8 to 12 pounds. But apparently these birds can be a lot bigger.

. It won the last annual heaviest turkey competition, held in London on December 12, 1989, and was auctioned for charity for a record $6,692.

, in the November 2012 article "The Surprising Connection Between Turkeys and T. Rex," by George Fredrick, paleontologists point to the wishbone as evidence that turkeys are related to dinosaurs.

The tradition of eating turkey for Thanksgiving goes back many, many years, but possibly not all the way to the autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as the first Thanksgiving celebration in the colonies, according to history.com. Turkey may not have been part of the meal when the Plymouth colonists shared the inaugural feast in 1621 with the Wampanoag Indians. "Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird - whether roasted, baked, or deep-fried - on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation," the history.com website reports.

If only turkeys talked, then maybe there would be more specific records about the history of the great Thanksgiving feast centerpiece. Actually, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation: "Just like humans, turkeys talk to communicate. Their vocabulary consists of 28 distinct calls. Each sound has a general meaning and can be used for different situations. Male turkeys are notorious for their iconic gobble, which unlike other calls, is given with a fixed intensity."

For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

, in 2015, more than 233.1 million turkeys were raised; more than 212 million were consumed in the United States; and an estimated 46 million of those turkeys were eaten at Thanksgiving, 22 million at Christmas, and 19 million at Easter.

The turkey plays a part in something that brings new meaning to Thanksgiving stuffing - the turducken, a chicken stuffed into a duck, stuffed into a turkey. Leave room for cranberry sauce ... if that is possible.

Going back to another reason for turkeys to be thankful, here it is: the tofurkey.

promotes a variety of turkey substitutes, along with other vegan dishes.

Connecticut has played an important role in the livelihood of the wild version of the bird that gets stuffed and enjoyed on the fourth Thursday of November and for the days that follow "Turkey Day" - leftover sweet potato and turkey sandwiches anybody?

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