BAYVIEW — Maybe “Big Fanny” should have gotten some advice from the chicken who crossed the road.
Just after 8 a.m. Friday, a white Volvo traveling on Bayview Road hit and killed “Big Fanny,” a member of the turkey family that has roamed the area freely since last fall.
“We’re all mourning Big Fanny,” said Don Roan, a Good Cheer volunteer and Bayview turkey fan.
“We called her Big Fanny because she had a big fanny,” he said.
The turkeys have been spotted up and down Bayview Road since last fall, going for walks and gobbling at people passing by. Though they often wandered into the roadway, South End drivers took the trio of jaywalking turkeys in stride.
Roan was clearly upset and pointed to speed as a factor in the fatal accident.
“People around here look out for the turkeys,” he said.
Reva Albright came upon the accident scene on her way to work at Good Cheer Food Bank.
“The feathers were still flying,” Albright said.
“The other two turkeys looked distraught. The people that hit her looked distraught. They probably were trying to figure out what they hit,” she said.
Albright said she didn’t stay to find out what happened to the dead bird or the two survivors.
The birds had won quite a following in the area.
“They looked like domesticated turkeys that got away,” Albright said. “They were not going to be anybody’s Thanksgiving dinner. They were kind of community pets,” she said, adding that passers-by sometimes fed the birds.
The Good Cheer team had just bought a big bag of feed for the turkeys, who sometimes came by the food bank for a visit.
Since the incident, the two surviving turkeys haven’t been seen on Bayview Road as often.
“They are probably trying to recover,” he said.
Roan added he would like the accident driver and the community to donate money to WAIF or another animal welfare organization in Big Fanny’s name.
“We all should take care of these creatures. They are part of our environment,” he said.
Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
