NORTHAMPTON — Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night can stop the U.S. Postal Service, but a territorial tom turkey has managed to halt mail delivery in Ward 3.

Residents in the neighborhood around Parsons, Market and Cherry streets have not received their mail after a wild turkey has ruffled some feathers, allegedly harassing neighbors and mail couriers.

Marshall Poe has lived in his house on Cherry Street for approximately nine years. He said he has come to know and appreciate his local mail courier and explained that he has almost always been satisfied with his neighborhood’s prompt mail service — until last week, when he did not receive mail for more than two days.

“I contacted the post office to find out, and they said it was an animal control issue, that there was some animal interfering with the delivery of the mail,” Poe said. “They said, ‘Yes, that’s right, and it’s a turkey.'”

Although Poe reported on Wednesday, June 3, that mail delivery has resumed, Animal Control Officer Dawn Ubelaker noted that the turkey has been an intermittent problem in the neighborhood for nearly a year.

Ubelaker explained that while turkeys are not inherently dangerous creatures, this male turkey has reportedly damaged cars by pecking at his own reflection, as well as the roofs of houses. The bird has even reportedly chased people pushing strollers down the street.

After consulting MassWildlife, Ubelaker learned the turkey roosts in the area because neighbors feed him. Consequently, removing the bird would simply invite another turkey to move into the vacant territory.

“We encouraged residents to stop feeding it, because it was just becoming so habituated to people it now doesn’t really have a fear of people anymore,” Ubelaker said, noting that she intends to begin issuing fines to residents caught feeding the turkey. “The situation just seemed to be escalating, where the turkey was at one point cornering the mail carriers on people’s porches and really just causing some legitimate fear. We educated the neighborhood against feeding the turkey and the fact that feeding wildlife in Northampton is a violation of a city ordinance, but it just doesn’t seem to be taking effect.”

It’s the second time in the last year that a turkey has stolen the show in Northampton, after a loner bird named “Sandwich” became something of a local celebrity and a public health hazard after hanging out around Cooley Dickinson Hospital for the better part of a year. In February, a Huntington woman saw Sandwich on her drive home and took it home with her, saying she was concerned for the turkey’s and drivers safety.

In Massachusetts, it is illegal to trap and relocate, or move, any live wild animal from one location to another. Even licensed problem animal control agents are restricted from relocating animals.

While Poe explained that he loves animals and does not wish to see anything happen to the turkey, he worries that the bird’s behavior in his Ward 3 neighborhood has put those who have important documents or medication delivered to them through the postal service at risk. He added that since the turkey wanders the street, obstructing vehicles, it poses a safety threat to motorists.

Despite his love for animals, Poe worries the turkey’s aggressive behavior compromises the safety of neighbors dependent on the postal service for essential documents and life-saving medications. Beyond the mail delivery crisis, he noted that that the bird wandering the streets and obstructing vehicles creates an ongoing hazard for drivers.

“The turkey wanders around the middle of the street, and the way people drive on Market Street is crazy. They drive really fast, and I have seen people screech to a halt to avoid hitting this turkey,” Poe said. “I’ve seen them dodge out of the way of the turkey, practically to the sidewalk, to keep from hitting it. It’s only a matter of time until somebody has a big accident because of the turkey, and that’s a public safety hazard.”

Ward 3 resident Katy Wight, who lives on Northern Avenue, said that although she has seen the turkey charge USPS trucks, most mail carriers she encountered laughed off the situation as a nuisance rather than a threat.

Still, Wight has witnessed the turkey leading hens into her garden and, on a few occasions, returned home to find the flock perched in her driveway.

“I have encountered him on Market Street, and there are regularly turkeys in my yard, sometimes a lone tom, but sometimes, especially in the fall, there’s a flock of turkeys around with one tom and a bunch of females,” she said. “I have a wildlife camera in my garden and they regularly set it off and sometimes peer right in it.”

Recalling an incident where she had to help a postal worker by chasing the aggressive bird away from a mail truck, Wight admitted she still enjoys having the turkey around. However, she understands why those trying to do their jobs see it as a hassle.

“I kind of love that we have so much wildlife walking around, and I find the turkey amusing,” Wight said. “I don’t feel threatened by him, but yeah, I understand mail carriers are in a different situation.”

A USPS spokesperson could be reached immediately for comment on Wednesday.