Farewell, Mr. Gobbles

Our exposure to wildlife in the city is mercifully infrequent. There are the grossly obese squirrels on the Common, the occasional dog, and of course, killer falcons.

Until recently, Kendall Square had Mr. Gobbles. But the beloved turkey has been forced to fly the coop.

The Cambridge Chronicle reports that the beloved creature has been moved to the Animal Rescue League’s Dedham refuge after he was hit by a car last month. The loss of the turkey, whose hobbies include staring at himself in windows and chasing squirrels, is hitting the area’s human inhabitants hard.

“I’d like to think he was crossing the street to get a caramel macchiato at Starbucks,” one Biogen employee wrote in a much-circulated e-mail.

“He was content,” said Katry Schwab, a Volpe employee who preferred to call Gobbles “Mr. T” because it’s just more “dignified.”

But Mr. Gobbles is in a better place now.

[Animal Rescue League manager Lisa] Lagos said Gobbles won’t be lonely: there are other turkeys on the property.

“We hope that Mr. Gobbles will enjoy his new home in the suburbs!” the transportation center’s internal newsletter, the Volpe Voice, wrote recently.

How can a street-wise turkey be happy when he can’t find a place to get a decent venti cappuccino? Let’s hope Mr. Gobbles finds a Mrs. Gobbles as he settles for life in the ‘burbs.

Photo: Cambridge Chronicle