Joint Base intruders get “stuffed” Published Feb. 25, 2016 By Senior Airman Lauren Pitts Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Joint Base officials partnered with the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife to evict two members of the notorious gang Meleagris Gallopavo - better known by their street name: wild turkeys - from the installation earlier this month. Using a non-lethal technique to relocate the wild game to a remote location, the turkeys were marked with a tag and successfully roosted under the supervision of Natural Resources personnel. "The nuisance turkeys had lost fear of human interaction," said Mark Stevenson, a 787th Civil Engineer Squadron natural resources biological scientist. "That kind of urban acclimation is dangerous for animals." The state wildlife biologists involved with the removal chose to remain anonymous. "In that line of work, you have to be sometimes," Stevenson explained. Reports of the male and female duo initially started coming in after sightings were made around major road ways. However, as time went on, it became apparent that these two feathered guests marched to the beat of their own drumstick. To prove they weren't chicken, the pair loitered in high-traffic areas, held up drive-thrus and even caused destruction to property after an attempted beaking-and-entering. Damage caused by the angry birds scored no points with Capt. Olujimisola Adelani, 87th Medical Group public health flight commander, who paid hundreds of dollars for repairs on her vehicle. "They had been hanging around for a few weeks," explained Adelani. "We had them in the parking lots, the grassy areas around the clinic, and outside the [pharmacy] doors." Adelani's husband first noticed the scratches on the hood of her car this past November. It wasn't until a coworker mentioned seeing turkey's climbing on other vehicles that she realized the damage to her car had their talon-prints all over it. "That's when it dawned on me that they were responsible for the damage to my car," Adelani said. "There was simply no other explanation." Adelani is currently working out the details of her insurance claim, but says she is grateful to see these thugs off JB MDL streets - and cars! "I appreciate the effort that went towards removing them," she said. "I was worried after fixing my car, and kept my fingers crossed that they wouldn't return to damage it." Now a few weeks after the removal, Adelani and other residents of the Joint Base can continue to heal and move on. Although it is unclear whether or not the turkeys will ever return to the base, one thing is for certain: MDL doesn't tolerate fowl play.