The people of Jacques Spur are mourning over the death of a wild turkey nicknamed Rufus, which had became a tourist attraction by adopting a rural cafe and greeting its visitors.

For about six months, Rufus was a fixture at the Jacques Spur Junction Cafe. His boldness apparently carried him through Thanksgiving as diners feasted on turkey while watching Rufus in the parking lot.

But on the opening day of turkey hunting season, he was bagged by an anonymous hunter who flipped Rufus into his red Chevy Blazer and quickly drove away.

"We weren't expecting something like this," Kristie McDaide, a cook at , told the Lewiston Tribune.

The cafe has since received notes of condolence and calls from as far away as the Netherlands and Canada.

One note includes a poem to the hunter: "Hope you can sleep at nite (sic), hope you choke on every bite." Another person sent money for a memorial.