My Life as a Turkey airs Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 8/7c on PBS (check local listings).
Watch a preview of the PBS Nature film My Life as a Turkey:
“Had I known what was in store—the difficult nature of the study and the time I was about to invest—I would have been hard pressed to justify such an intense involvement. But, fortunately, I naively allowed myself to blunder into a two-year commitment that was at once exhausting, often overwhelming, enlightening, and one of the most inspiring and satisfying experiences of my life.”
–Joe Hutto, Illumination in the Flatwoods
After a local farmer left a bowl of eggs on Joe Hutto’s front porch, his life was forever changed. Hutto, possessing a broad background in the natural sciences and an interest in imprinting young animals, incubated the eggs and waited for them to hatch. As the chicks emerged from their shells, they locked eyes with an unusual but dedicated mother.
Deep in the wilds of Florida’s Flatlands, Hutto spent each day living as a turkey mother, taking on the full-time job of raising sixteen turkey chicks. Hutto dutifully cared for his family around the clock, roosting with them, taking them foraging, and immersing himself in their world. In the process, they revealed their charming curiosity and surprising intellect. There was little he could teach them that they did not already know, but he showed them the lay of the land and protected them from the dangers of the forest as best he could. In return, they taught him how to see the world through their eyes.
Based on his true story, My Life as a Turkey chronicles Hutto’s remarkable and moving experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood. My Life as a Turkey premiered Wednesday, November 16, 2011.
I would love to share this with my grandchildren. Will there be re-runs? How about DVD or a book.
My husband and I wereglued to the TV watching the show. There is something new to learn everyday. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I’ve never seen anything like this. I was completely awestruck. Mr. Hutto has my deepest respect for his love of the animal world, how he articulates his experiences for the viewer, and ability to capture this experience in a way that is sensitive, respectful, and all-ages appropriate. We can all learn lessons from these wonderful creatures, to “live in the moment” as he puts it. Thank you, PBS and Mr. Hutto.
My life as a turkey is amazing.
My view on things has changed.
Beautiful pictures and deep insight into life of another spieces.
Thank you turkeyboy sweetpeace and Joe.
I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this, but I just couldn’t pull myself away. I laughed, I cried. Such a beautiful story.
I just watched this. It was beyond great!
Have never seen anything better! Thanks for airing such a good quality program. I was fascinated and touched by the sensitivity to and the love for nature and God’s creatures. (though I must close my eyes when the reptiles come into view!)) Joe Hutto has. I found myself wishing I, too, had that same capacity as Joe Hutto and my own daughter and also my son, both of whom I couldn’t help thinking throughout. They possess that same makeup to relate to and care for animals and to respect and love nature in its many aspects. Thank you again!
A must-see. It was so beautiful (visually and spiritually), and I find myself thinking of it days and weeks after watching. As someone fascinated by interspecies communication, I was perhaps most impressed by how these wild birds opened a gateway to their environment for their adopted human “mother,” allowing him a profoundly deeper connection to the rest of nature than he was able to achieve directly, even after years of study and experience there.
I laughed, I cried . . . it was better than “Cats.”