Video: 18 Turkeys Circle A Dead Cat — Facebook, Twitter Explode With Theories

The below video from “The Real J. Davis” out of Boston was published to Twitter to Thursday, March 2. With a funny description claiming that the turkeys seen walking in a circle around a dead cat in the street are trying to revive the cat — the strange video has gone viral around Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms. Most people are wondering what exactly those 18 turkeys in Boston are doing walking in a circle around a dead cat — and most people ascribe something evil to the intentions of the turkeys. Davis wrote that the turkeys were attempting to give the dead cat life No. 10, since it is a common refrain to say that cats have nine lives. With more than 20,000 Twitter likes and 14,000 retweets for his viral video, Davis joked he might as well wish “RIP” to his Twitter mentions at this point.

https://twitter.com/TheReal_JDavis/status/837301561500057605

Plenty of people are wondering aloud why the turkeys are walking in a circle around the dead cat. According to the Verge, the turkeys are likely in a circle because they are undergoing a “predator inspection,” which means those turkeys are circling around the dead cat in a ritualistic manner to determine if that cat is going to jump up and attack the turkeys. Or, those turkeys might discover that the cat is actually a dead cat and not a threat at all to the turkeys.

Flock of turkeys circling dead cat in video is both "creepy" and "rare," a biologist says.https://t.co/djkybjtFf5 pic.twitter.com/Cj5TPTKvF8

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) March 2, 2017

If anything, the turkeys circling the dead cat seem to almost taunt and tease the cat, who — if not dead and laying in the middle of the street — would likely jump up and attack those taunting turkeys. The inspection gives the turkeys an opportunity to see how weak or frisky the cat might be. Turkeys aren’t the only ones who perform such rituals. Beyond turkeys, other birds like quail, chickens and tasty-sounding pheasants might perform the same kind of circling behavior. As the old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” And this is one flock of turkeys that stuck together in a marching band circle around a dead cat that has captured the attention of the Interwebs at large.

https://twitter.com/Hoaxolizer/status/837379690063097857

Many people are calling it one of the strangest things they’ve seen, just like the guy who filmed the video. The 18 turkeys continue to walk around in the circle around the cat — kind of seemingly entranced or stuck in a circle that perhaps only a passing vehicle might break the turkeys out of. On social media, however, folks have got their own explanations for the weird turkeys circling a dead cat video. Some are joking that it’s some kind of pagan resurrection rite, especially in light of the original Twitter description accompanying the video.

Others are joking that the 18 turkeys killed the cat and were just waiting for their meal to appear good and dead before diving in to eat the cat. Yet and still other people are attributing some kind of metaphoric meaning to the 18 turkeys circling the dead cat. Despite some of those theories, turkeys are not known to dine regularly on cats, so the amusing video is nearly causing more questions to arise with each of its viral views.

Some of the comments about the turkeys circling the dead cat can be read below.

Arnold Cohen: “Something you don’t see every day.”

Jill Connolly: “I’d like to think they were respectfully saying goodbye.”

Andrew Warner: “I am fairly certain that this was written of in the book of Revelation.”

Tim Conder: “Thanksgiving 2017? Think again.”

Richard Kaczynski: “When, at age 14, I stayed at my relatives’ farm in Poland, I sat under a tree so engrossed in a book on hatha yoga that I didn’t notice my babca cut off one of the chickens’ heads and leave the carcass upside down in a bucket for the blood to drain. After she went indoors, I watched the remaining chickens gather in a circle around this crude tin abattoir. Once assembled, a sombre hush fell upon them. A chicken stepped into the circle, approached the bucket, and stretched her neck to peer in. Squawking loudly, she returned to the perimeter and fell silent so that the next bird could repeat the ritual. And so it went around the circle, this chicken wake. That was the day I became a vegetarian.”

[Featured Image by Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Images]