A wild turkey is released from a plane flying over Crooked Creek during the 72nd annual Turkey Trot in Yellville, Arkansas, Oct. 14, 2017. An investigation by the FAA into the event released their report in November 2017 saying they found no violations. 
 
 Domestic turkeys can't fly — but that hasn't stopped people in a small town in Arkansas from dropping the birds from small planes at an annual festival event that has drawn opposition from animal-rights activists. 
 
 While turkeys can't flap their wings and soar as many other birds can, they can slow their falls somewhat, Michael Habib, a professor of anatomy at the University of Southern California, told Live Science. "A lot of flightless birds have wings that can produce lift; it's just not enough to fly," said Habib, who studies the evolution of flight in birds. 
 
 The festival is the annual Turkey Trot in Yellville. For the past 50 years during the festival, a local pilot has flown a plane and dropped domestic turkeys from a height of about 500 feet (150 meters) over local fields, according to the Huffington Post. [10 Weird Facts About Turkeys] 
 
 The problem for the domestic turkeys is that, while they can slow a fall, they can't do it forever — it depends on how long they can keep flapping their wings. Habib noted that turkeys are very powerful for short periods, just like human sprinters. However, they can't keep up that activity for long. So, during the first part of the descent at least, the turkeys likely flap their wings wildly, and they "fly" similarly to their wild cousins. 
 
 According to the "Ask the Van" site at the University of Illinois physics department, when birds fly, their wings push air down and generate thrust, pushing the bird up. And as the wings come up, they bend and push less air because they aren't spread out anymore. That's what allows the average flying bird to keep itself up and, just as importantly, generate some forward motion. The forward motion creates lift, because as air flows over the bird, the layer of air above it is less dense than that below, and the bird rides on the more-dense layer. This is also why some bird species can soar, like eagles and vultures. Given enough forward thrust, a bird can glide and "coast" along, because the shape of the wing creates an airflow that is less dense on top of it, just like an airplane's wing. The birds that do this really well like albatrosses have long wingspans and small bodies. 
 
 But domestic turkeys are so heavy relative to their wing area that they can't really do either powered flight or gliding well, Habib said. The combined upward thrust and lift simply isn't enough to overcome the bird's weight. [Amazing Physics: How 245 People Jumped Off a Bridge at Once — and Survived] 
 
 This is why, as reported by Arkansas Online, out of a dozen turkeys dropped at the 2016 event, two died on impact. The turkeys can't really glide well, given their shape and weight, Habib said. Even though turkey wings can create a little bit of lift, they don't have the optimal shape to do so, and their bodies are too heavy for it to work, according to Habib. 
 
 Other birds have even less ability to slow falls in this way. "Ostriches wouldn't have any more success than you or I would," he said. That's because their wings are simply too small relative to their body size to generate any significant lift at all, he said. 
 
 Domestic turkeys can't fly, but wild turkeys can, Habib said. Like other birds in their order, called Galliformes, wild turkeys just can't fly for long — just long enough to get up into a tree or out of danger. 
 
 Some young birds in this order — which includes chickens, geese and peacocks — sometimes use their wings to help them climb up trees or inclines. When they need to get down, they use their wings to break their fall. This happens a lot with a bird called the chukar, which is native to Eurasia. The altitude they can reach — limited by trees and small cliffs — is nowhere near the altitude the turkeys are dropped from at the Turkey Trot. 
 
 This flight ability (or inability) can be seen in the "color" of the birds' meat. Habib noted that the metabolism of the muscles in their legs and wings are one of the reasons the meat is light or dark. Dark meat — in the legs, for example — has muscle that contains myoglobin, an oxygen-carrying molecule that allows them to work efficiently for longer periods. When it cooks, it becomes darker. 
 
 White meat is "fast-twitch" muscle that doesn't use as much oxygen because it isn't designed to work for long, but it's powerful. The breast (which powers the wings) is fast-twitch muscle, and it's why the breast meat is lighter in color. Myoglobin is why long-distance flyers, like ducks, have dark meat in the breast that looks more like steak. That powerful, fast-twitch muscle explains why a relatively heavy bird — the wild turkey — can fly but tires quickly, Habib said. 
 
 Flightlessness can be bred in birds; that's what happened with domestic turkeys and chickens. But it can also appear in birds that live without any pressure from predators because there's no reason to have escapist skills. The kakapo (in the parrot family) and the dodo, which was related to pigeons, became flightless in that way. Habib noted that, in both cases, there were few ground-level predators on these animals' island habitats. Kakapos are native to New Zealand and were driven to near extinction when humans introduced rats and cats to the area. Dodos, which lived on Mauritius, are thought to have been killed by humans for food, but they also became victims of the rats that humans introduced. The last dodos died in the 17th century. 
 
 But regardless of turkeys' abilities, it's not good for them to be dropped. "It's really unethical," Habib said. 
 
 Originally published on Live Science. ||||| Turkeys dropped from Arkansas plane find refuge in Fairfield 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Image 1 of 5 Joan Poster plants a kiss on Ringo, one of four turkeys rescued from an Arkansas turkey drop. Susie Coston, from Farm Sanctuary, delivered two of those turkeys to Poster’s farm in Fairfield on Wednesday. Joan Poster plants a kiss on Ringo, one of four turkeys rescued from an Arkansas turkey drop. Susie Coston, from Farm Sanctuary, delivered two of those turkeys to Poster’s farm in Fairfield on Wednesday. Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 2 of 5 Ringo, a rescued turkey, checks out his new digs at the Poster family's farm in Southport. Fairfield,CT. 11/22/17 Ringo, a rescued turkey, checks out his new digs at the Poster family's farm in Southport. Fairfield,CT. 11/22/17 Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 3 of 5 John, in front, and Ringo, are rescue turkeys who made themselves at home Wednesday at the Southport farm owned by veterinarian Joan Poster. The turkeys were part of a turkey drop in Arkansas. Fairfield,CT. 11/22/17 less John, in front, and Ringo, are rescue turkeys who made themselves at home Wednesday at the Southport farm owned by veterinarian Joan Poster. The turkeys were part of a turkey drop in Arkansas. Fairfield,CT. ... more Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 4 of 5 Ringo, a rescued turkey, starts to strut his stuff at a Southport farm Wednesday. Fairfield,CT. 11/22/17 Ringo, a rescued turkey, starts to strut his stuff at a Southport farm Wednesday. Fairfield,CT. 11/22/17 Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 5 of 5 Ringo, left, and John, two turkeys rescued after an Arkansas turkey drop, make themselves at home at a Southport farm. Fairfield,CT. 11/24/17 Ringo, left, and John, two turkeys rescued after an Arkansas turkey drop, make themselves at home at a Southport farm. Fairfield,CT. 11/24/17 Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Turkeys dropped from Arkansas plane find refuge in Fairfield 1 / 5 Back to Gallery 
 
 FAIRFIELD — Two turkeys arrived Wednesday afternoon at Joan Poster’s home, but they weren’t there to grace Poster’s Thanksgiving table. 
 
 Poster, a well-known local veterinarian, is a vegetarian, and the two turkeys — John and Ringo — were part of a quartet of injured birds rescued from Yellville, Arkansas’ annual and infamous turkey drop. 
 
 The turkeys were injured during the October event and found bleeding on the pavement. Some of the turkeys are dropped from a plane, while others were tossed from the top of the Marion County Courthouse. 
 
 John, Ringo, George and Paul were rescued by Farm Sanctuary and brought to the group’s shelter in upstate New York. George and Paul are still recovering from their injuries. 
 
 Poster said she had never heard of the turkey drop. “It’s a crazy world,” she said, as John and Ringo got acclimated to their new home at Poster’s Southport farm. “I’ve always had turkeys. I love them.” 
 
 There are about 100 animals at the 17-acre farm, Poster said, if you count the chickens. There are 30 rabbits, goats, pigs, Clydesdale horses, a cow, some roosters and a peacock. And now, two turkeys. 
 
 The two were delivered by Susie Coston, from Farm Sanctuary. She said PETA had a group of activists on the ground during the turkey drop and were able to convince the people who captured them to turn them over. 
 
 “They look very happy,” Coston said. “These two weren’t as badly injured.” 
 
 Ringo, she said, was a Black Special, while John appeared to be a Narragansett, both of which are heritage breeds, and not wild turkeys. Heritage breeds, she said, are slower to grow, and don’t get as big as the industrial broad-breasted turkeys most are familiar with. 
 
 Poster said turkeys live about five or six years, usually getting too big for their legs. 
 
 This is not the first time Poster has offered shelter to rescued turkeys. In 2010, she welcomed Mordecai and Fiona, two Bourbon reds, who came from an organic farm. The Farm Sanctuary each year runs an Adopt a Turkey program, and its Turkey Express brings the rescued birds to their new homes. Poster has been adopting rescued turkeys since 1996. 
 
 While wild turkeys can fly, it is usually just from tree to tree. Domesticated turkeys can only fly short distances. 
 
 The turkey drop is held the same weekend as the Yellville Chamber of Commerce’s Turkey Trot, a festival to highlight the state’s spot as one of the country’s top turkey-producing states. Activities include a road race, music, dancing and a pageant. According to an Associated Press story, the chamber stopped the turkey drop in 1989, but the tradition was continued by local pilots. Dropping the turkeys from a plane is apparently not in violation of FAA rules, so long as they don’t cause damage to people or property. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Image 1 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot Turkey toss starts as first bird is tossed from low flying plane in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Turkey toss starts as first bird is tossed from low flying plane in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 2 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot Children watching a boy climbing a tree to grab turkey which landed in branches in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Children watching a boy climbing a tree to grab turkey which landed in branches in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 3 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot Up the elm tree after fast climb a farmer snares a bird that had found itself a handy roost in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Up the elm tree after fast climb a farmer snares a bird that had found itself a handy roost in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 4 of 8 Miss drumstick contest, putting best drumstick forward Miss Arkansas Auto Auction Miss Gold Nugget Feed, 21 more vie for title given solely on leg appeal in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Miss drumstick contest, putting best drumstick forward Miss Arkansas Auto Auction Miss Gold Nugget Feed, 21 more vie for title given solely on leg appeal in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 5 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot Peggy Mears winner of the Miss Drumstick contest in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Peggy Mears winner of the Miss Drumstick contest in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 6 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot The Turkey calling Contest in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. The Turkey calling Contest in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 7 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot A boy crossing the square toting a turkey he caught in the kids' scramble in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. A boy crossing the square toting a turkey he caught in the kids' scramble in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Image 8 of 8 | 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot Winning legs of Peggy Mears, of the Miss Drumstick contest are shown from behind a cutout in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Winning legs of Peggy Mears, of the Miss Drumstick contest are shown from behind a cutout in Yellville, Arkansas in 1952. Photo: Wallace Kirkland/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images 1953 Yellville, Arkansas Turkey Trot 1 / 8 Back to Gallery 
 
 A story on the Baxter Bulletin advancing the Turkey Trot said, “The weather forecast in Yellville this weekend is sunny with a chance of falling turkeys.” The Bulletin wrote that the turkeys, “which usually flutter to the ground are chased down and claimed by festival attendees.” 
 
 It has been said that the famous “WKRP in Cincinnati” Thanksgiving episode in 1978, where live turkeys were dropped from a helicopter, may have been inspired in part by the turkey drop in Yellville. ||||| The Federal Aviation Administration has found no violations with an infamous Arkansas event that involves dropping live turkeys from a plane ― but that may be because no one ever thought they’d need a rule about that. 
 
 “FAA regulations do not specifically prohibit dropping live animals from aircraft, possibly because the authors of the regulation never anticipated that an explicit prohibition would be necessary,” an FAA spokesman told HuffPost in an email. “This does not mean we endorse the practice.” 
 
 The Associated Press and WREG reported last month that the FAA would be looking into possible laws or regulations broken during the annual Turkey Trot festival in Yellville, Arkansas. This year’s Turkey Trot took place on Oct. 14. 
 
 Though the fall festival includes many events, it’s best known for the “turkey drop,” in which live turkeys are dropped from a plane 500 feet in the air. Festivalgoers chase and catch the surviving turkeys. Last year, a dozen turkeys were dropped and two died on impact, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. ||||| Story highlights Each year, an American president "pardons" a turkey or two just before Thanksgiving 
 
 President Barack Obama has sent his turkeys to Mt. Vernon for their "twilight years" 
 
 But a pardon just means the birds aren't stuffed and eaten; they're not expected to live long 
 
 American turkeys are bred to be consumed, many of them at Thanksgiving 
 
 Along a pastoral lane at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate sits a sizable wooden pen built specifically to house the two turkeys that will be "pardoned" at the White House on Wednesday. 
 
 The well-appointed pen includes a small coop to protect them from weather and foxes, and an area for them to strut their stuff for camera-toting tourists. 
 
 But there is one thing that is missing: other turkeys. That's because all the turkeys ever pardoned at the White House are dead, including the six already given a pass from the roasting pan by President Barack Obama in previous years. 
 
 "The bird is bred for the table, not for longevity," said Dean Norton, the director at Mount Vernon in charge of livestock. "Some of [the pardoned turkeys] have been pretty short lived." 
 
 Compared to domesticated animals, turkeys bred for consumption are usually plump and slaughtered after a period of months, and wouldn't be expected to live much longer on their own. So, a pardon really can extend their lives a lot, relatively speaking. 
 
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 The two turkeys pardoned in 2012 - Cobbler and Gobbler - died within a year of their White House appearance, despite what a spokeswoman at Mount Vernon said was diligent veterinary care. 
 
 Gobbler died on February 5, 2013, of natural causes. Cobbler lived a bit longer, dying on August 22, 2013, after he fell ill and had to be euthanized. Both are buried at Mount Vernon. 
 
 In the two years prior, three of the four pardoned turkeys died less than five months after their pardon. 
 
 The other turkey - Peace, who was pardoned in 2011 - lived 16 months after arriving at Mount Vernon. 
 
 So why do those birds -- and others bred to be eaten -- die faster than their wild brethren? 
 
 "The birds are fed in such a way to increase their weight," Norton, who has worked at Mount Vernon since 1969, said. "[Americans] want a nice big breasted turkey and so they are fed high protein diet and they get quite large. The organs, though, that are in this bird are meant for a smaller bird. They just can't handle the extra weight, so they end up living not as long [as wild turkeys]." 
 
 The differences extend beyond life expectancy, too. 
 
 "Your native bird can fly beautifully and roost in trees," Norton said, while the type that receive pardons "does not fly, has very short stubbly legs and typically last right up to Thanksgiving." 
 
 Final years? Figuratively 
 
 In 2012, when Obama announced the pardons for Cobbler and Gobbler, he hinted the birds were in their final years, telling the audience that they were headed to Mount Vernon "where they will spend their twilight years in the storied home of George Washington." 
 
 The word "years," however, seems to be an exaggeration. 
 
 The National Turkey Federation, a group that lobbies for the turkey industry and selects those to be honored each year at the White House, disagrees with any notion that the lives of these birds are cut short. 
 
 They are bred for consumption have a "life expectancy of about 18 weeks," said Keith Williams, spokesman for the turkey federation. "They are not raised as pets and animals are not pets." 
 
 Their short lives, Williams points out, says more about Americans taste for turkey and breeding practices than mistreatment or short lives. 
 
 Bred to be stuffed 
 
 Starting in 1960, farmers specifically started breeding plump turkeys that had large amounts of white breast meat -- a response to American demand. The differences between wild and bred turkeys, Williams said, stems mostly from diet. 
 
 "A turkey that is bred exclusively for eating, eats corn and soybean that have minerals in them," Williams said. 
 
 According to the federation, a whopping 219 million turkeys were consumed in the United States in 2011. On Thanksgiving that year, the group estimates 46 million were gobbled up. 
 
 Since 1970, around the time breeding practices changed, turkey consumption has increased 104 percent, according to the federation. 
 
 The practice of pardoning a turkey at the White House dates to Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 The story goes that around Thanksgiving, turkeys were brought to the White House and Lincoln's son, Tad, grew attached to one particular bird and begged his chief executive father to spare the fowl from the table. Lincoln agreed and the turkey lived. 
 
 It is unclear if the practice continued for the next 100 years. But in 1963, President John F. Kennedy decided to send his turkey back to the farm it came from, telling the National Turkey Federation they should "just let this one grow" instead. 
 
 Bush "41" sent them to Frying Pan Park 
 
 The tradition became official in 1989, under President George H.W. Bush. On November 14, weeks before Thanksgiving, Bush pardoned a turkey and the White House shipped him off to live his twilight year at -- Frying Pan Park -- in Herndon, Virginia. 
 
 Since then, a President has pardoned a turkey each year. 
 
 All of Obama's turkeys were sent to Mount Vernon. The birds spent the holidays in the public pen and then were moved to a livestock area out of view because they were not "historically accurate" to Washington's time period. 
 
 According to Norton, the turkey federation wanted the birds to be more prominently displayed. So this year, they will head to Morven Park, a historic estate in Leesburg, Virginia, on January 7. 
 
 The estate was home to Former Virginia Gov. Westmoreland Davis, who ran it from 1918 to 1922. Davis was a prodigious turkey farmer, according to Teresa Davenport, a spokeswoman for Morven Park. 
 
 As for the near certainty that the turkeys will soon die, Davenport said they "are going to do everything [they] can to make that not happen." 
 
 "These turkeys were raised in Minnesota, so they are used to cold winters," Davenport said. "A lot of the employees here are already on turkey duty."
– No matter how busy the holiday travel season, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a smoother flight than the unfortunate turkeys involved in Arkansas' Turkey Trot. The annual October festival in Yellville sees turkeys hurled from buildings and a plane flying 500 feet above the ground. Disturbed? You're not alone. Tommy Lee is among those to bash the "sick" tradition, reports Arkansas Online. Live Science explains the uproar: Domestic turkeys are bred for flightlessness, their bodies too heavy for their wings to get them off the ground. While their wings can slow a descent, there's no guarantee domestic turkeys will survive falls from great heights. The same is true of wild turkeys, which can only fly short distances. Indeed, two turkeys dropped from a plane last year died on impact. At least four turkeys dropped this year were found injured and bleeding, though they've since found refuge at a New York shelter, where they were named John, Ringo, George, and Paul, per the Fairfield Citizen. The town of Yellville technically stopped throwing turkeys in 1989—continuing the Turkey Trot festival started in 1946 with a dance, race, and parade—but local pilots continue to throw turkeys, per the Citizen and Baxter Bulletin. Despite animal activists' appeals, the FAA says it doesn't have the authority to intervene. "FAA regulations do not specifically prohibit dropping live animals from aircraft, possibly because the authors of the regulation never anticipated that an explicit prohibition would be necessary," a rep tells the Huffington Post, adding, "This does not mean we endorse the practice."