I dunno what to tell you - Maybe it is predator pressure like @Smokin Joe said, maybe it is a difference in selection in breeds here vs there... but turkeys are not uncommon here, domestic or wild, and providing that they are range birds, there isn't much different. It is not uncommon to see a domestic turkey a story or two up in the pines, roosted just like a wild one. 
The Shenandoah Valley was known for poultry production when I lived there, but those domestic (poultry farm) turkeys were so dumb they'd drown in a heavy cloudburst, looking up to see what hit them. Those are the sort most folks are used to, and they do just fine on the table. Make 'em fend for themselves, and a few will get smart or die, and the survivors produce smarter birds...and so on.
