Jessie rescues woman from flock of aggressive turkeys

Follow @JP_PondMonster
Well folks, this is actually a first! It looks like Jessie is back from hiding...


Jamaica Plain woman rescued by mysterious Pond Monster
Sandy Bernstrom
Feb 7, 2012
Boston Daily Crier


When walking around in an urban park you expect to run across some perils -- criminals, aggressive stroller pushers, joggers with rabies .... but not a gang of wild turkeys. The turkey gang, who have been harassing pedestrians and motorists in Brookline for years, have made their way into the Emerald Necklace.

This morning, Sarah Chang, 33, of Jamaica Plain was out for a jog at around 7:00 near Jamaica Pond. She turned a corner in the path and ran head on with the wild turkey gang. "I was frozen, and they surrounded me, I didn't know what to do. I mean .... turkeys?"

The turkeys closed in on Sarah and began aggressively bobbing their heads towards her. "They had a mean look in their eyes, I could tell they wanted blood," Ms. Chang said. "I thought I was a gonner. I wish I had never switched to turkey bacon."

But she had a hidden hero. "All of a sudden, I heard movement in the bushes ... a lot of movement. Then there was this loud grunt. Something came running really fast out of the bushes and right towards the leader of the turkey gang. The turkeys started running in all directions and I took off as fast as I could down the path."

Who or what was Ms. Chang's cryptic savior? Though it may be hard for some to believe, the creature may have been the famed Jamaica Pond Monster, Jessie for short, that is believed to inhabit the pond. The president of the Jamaica Pond Monster Observation Naturalist Society (JPMONS), Jonah Elwin, thinks it was. "It looks like her observations match up with almost every other description we have about Jessie." What is new, however, is Jessie's apparent willingness to come to the aid of a human in trouble. "It's not that Jessie has ignored people in distress in the past, it's more likely that this is the first time he or she was around when it happened." But Mr. Elwin advises people to not count on Jessie for a rescue in the future. "Mrs. Chang really got lucky," he said.

Ms. Chang got one last look. "After I had gotten away, I looked back and saw a big brown, furry animal slipping into the water. I just wish there was a way to thank it." Mr. Elwin said Jessie appreciates hot chocolate, saag paneer, and fried Mars bars.

Boston Park Rangers said they are looking into the turkey gang, and advise people to keep on the lookout and not approach them.