posted 03-02-2001 05:29 PM         

BOSTON (Reuters) - Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night kept a Newton, Massachusetts, postal carrier from his rounds. It took a wild turkey.

"He's a big one, bigger than any dog that's chased me," said U.S. postal carrier Tim Hoban, who has been delivering mail in the Boston suburb for the past 14 years.

The 5-foot-9 (1.8 meter), 150-pound (68 kg) Hoban said the 4-foot-6 (1.3 meter), 30 pound (13.5 kg) wild turkey has been in the area for about a year. "But about a month ago, he started chasing me."

"He see me, hunches up his back, spreads his wings, goes gobble, gobble and charges right at me," said Hoban, 39, acknowledging that there "are some things that are really funny about this, but it's not so funny when he chases me out into traffic."

The situation has become so bad that Hoban's supervisors agreed he did not have to deliver mail to about 20 homes in the area.

Boston's Animal Rescue League spent more than an hour on Wednesday without success trying to capture the turkey, which the neighborhood has nicknamed "George."

Hoban speculated that George sees him as a threat to his food supply. Recently people in the neighborhood have been putting out food for the creature.

"I feel bad for the people and I feel bad for the turkey. I don't want him hurt, but that goes for me too," Hoban said.

Looks like a good candidate for this year's forthcoming Thanksgiving, if you ask me, hey Zach?!