This tom has reportedly flapped its wings, puffed itself up to look big using a common turkey tactic to defend against predators, scratched several people with its talons, and of course, gobbled at people. One man posted on a local blog that he sustained puncture wounds to his legs after the tom attacked him, prompting him to get a tetanus shot at a health clinic.

Wildlife experts said it is all believed to be the work of the same turkey, though they stressed they cannot be certain. Some experts and animal followers have jokingly dubbed the ongoing effort to catch the tom “Operation Early Thanksgiving.” “He is one bad actor,” Dan Rauch, a wildlife biologist for the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment. “This should not reflect badly of all turkeys.”

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Wild turkeys are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but because this tom has attacked people, it has been deemed a public safety hazard and nuisance. Officials said they are thereby allowed under the law to capture and move him to a wildlife sanctuary.

So far, though, the tom has managed to elude them. Turkeys are smart and agile, wildlife experts said, able to run as fast as 25 miles per hour and fly pretty well, especially given their heft, at 20 to 25 pounds.

Usually, turkeys are chicken when they see humans, tending to run or fly away. But the attacking tom seems to have no fear of people and, in some cases, has chased runners and bikers. Wildlife experts said they are unsure why.

One theory is that he has become “desensitized to people,” Rauch said. Someone may have been routinely feeding it, he suggested, leading it to keep coming back to people expecting to be fed.

“It is unusual for a wild animal to approach a human, but if someone has been feeding it, animals will become desensitized, and they are more likely to approach,” said Lauren Crossed, wildlife program manager at the Humane Rescue Alliance in the District, who has been involved in trying to catch the turkey. And if a person then does not feed the turkey, she said, it could get angry.

Another theory for the atypical behavior is that he could be roaming for a female hen to mate with or trying to protect mates that are in the area. The tom could also be simply protecting what he perceives as his territory and his trail, experts said.

The latest attack, which was first reported by NBC Washington, was on Tuesday along the Anacostia River trail in Maryland, officials said. The victim caught the attack on her cellphone, and her video showed a turkey coming near her on a trail as she yelled, “Help, help, help!” According to the station, the woman said the wild turkey “ran her down and scratched her.”

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Wild turkeys have made a comeback in the region. They were rarely seen 50 years ago because of hunting and development, but conservation efforts have worked, and now experts say there are roughly 100 to 200 wild turkeys in the Washington area. They are often spotted in the National Arboretum, Rock Creek Park, Fort DuPont, or near the Frederick Douglass Memorial bridge. “Sightings of wild turkeys are common,” Crossed said. “The uncommon part with this one is that he is aggressively chasing people.”

He is also crossing jurisdictions, from the District to Maryland to land run by the National Park Service. That means that, in typical Washington style, there is a host of bureaucracy involved in the plot to capture him, including the local nonprofit humane rescue group, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

“We tried baiting him. We went out with turkey calls,” Crossed said. “We looked at victims to see if there is something they had in common or if there is something about the location of the attacks,” she said. “There is nothing consistent.” At one point, experts considered dressing up some of their staff as joggers to try to lure the turkey.

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One park ranger bikes along the trail three times a day trying to spot the turkey and is on alert to call other wildlife experts. If the call comes, they are ready to help catch the tom with raptor gloves and a blanket and then quickly transport him to a sanctuary. They almost nabbed the tom one recent day, Crossed said, after one expert approached on a path and another on a bike. But the bird “looked at us and took off,” she said, flying across the river to a part where there are no trails for them to reach it.

Experts said their next tactic is to use a female hen decoy. Once the tom is caught, Crossed said, he will get a full exam by a veterinarian and head to an undisclosed sanctuary, where “he is not going to have to deal with people walking on his trail anymore.”

If you are out and see a wild turkey, experts advise to call the Humane Rescue Alliance. If you are on foot and there is a stick nearby, brandish it to try to look intimidating. And do not, experts say, because these days they have to, try to get close for a selfie.