Mobs of wild turkeys making life difficult for mail carriers, residents of one New Jersey town

In Hillsdale, New Jersey, it's not rain and sleet the mail carriers have to worry about — it's wild turkeys.

Earlier this week, the postmaster had to call 911 to alert officers that a mailman was stuck inside his vehicle, surrounded by a gang of turkeys. "You're not going to believe this, but I got a carrier that's being attacked by wild turkeys and won't let him deliver the mail," he said to the dispatcher. "This has been going on. It's crazy. They're actually attacking, biting, they chase the trucks, everything." A police officer told CBS New York he turned his sirens on to scare the birds away, and the carrier was "concerned that once we left they were going to go back after him."

Wild turkeys are often spotted across Bergen County, up on roofs, in traffic, and along roads. The New York Times reports that wild turkeys were eliminated in New Jersey in the mid-1800s, and reintroduced in the 1970s by the state's Department of Environmental Protection. There are 25,000 or so now, and residents say they've seen wild turkeys stalk bicyclists and joggers and even go after children.

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One explanation for their conduct is that it's an early form of spring fever, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Hajna told the Times. As the days become longer during late winter, some turkeys start to exhibit "crazy jake" behavior as their "hormones start to flow. Teenage males, or jakes, that are habituated to people get a bit aggressive."