This is Cupid, a beloved wild turkey living her life in Carmel Valley, California with an arrow through her chest. Residents have spotted the bird strutting around since Christmas.
"We are really hoping we can find the person who did this," said SPCA Monterey County spokesperson Beth Brookhouser. "We feel terrible that someone was so cruel to this bird."
From SFGate:
Brookhouser said for those working at the animal care and rehabilitation nonprofit, it's a matter of monitoring every photo the community takes to see if the arrow is moving. If the SPCA Monterey County is able to capture Cupid, it would likely sedate her, perform X-rays to see where the arrow is in her body, put her under anesthesia and perform surgery.
As of right now, from what the nonprofit can tell, "she's doing very, very well, and she is so mobile that can make rescue difficult to impossible," Brookhouser said. "The main thing is she's staying with her flock. She's able to fly — many people don't realize turkeys can fly. She's able to roost, living her life exactly like a wild turkey should except for this arrow."
Churchward agrees — for the most part: "I think she's doing fine-ish," he said.
(Thanks, Chanté McCormick!)
featured image: Mateescu Mircea Mugur/Shutterstock
