BBC Focus - 09.2019

REALITY CHECK

“ere’s no evidence

from dietary or

ecological studies that

gulls are becoming

more predatory”

“Seagullterror:lockupyourbabies”,

“Giantgullsatemydog”and“Seagull

f lewoffwithcat”areamongthemany

sensationalheadlinesofrecentyears.

Butaregullsreallyasbadasthetabloids

wouldhaveit,andarethingsbecoming

worse?Arethesebirdsbecomingmore

predator y,agg ressivea ndda ngerous?

Let’slookattheevidence.

There’snodoubtingthatthebiggulls

ofEu ropea nd adjacentregions – t he

herringgull,lesserandgreatblack-backed

gullsinparticular– areformidableand

potentiallydangerous.(Thereis nosuch

thingasa ‘seagull’butit isthecommon

namefora fewofthegullspecies.)

Yes, a g u llw illsnatchfood f roma

hand,especiallyif heldaloftandoutof

directhumaneyeline.And,yes,gulls

maystrike,peckorbitewhendefending

themselves,their chicksortheir nest.

Furthermore,their billsorwingsmay

m a ke cont ac t w it h pe ople when t he

birdsgrabfood.Suchincidentsarenot

uncommonandhave evenresultedin

lacerationstothehandorface,injuries

t hat– in ra recases – haverequired a

shortvisittothehospital.

But aresucheventsontheincrease?

It mightseemthattheyare,butthisis

mostlya consequenceofa faster-paced

newscycleandananti-gullagendathat

hasemerged withincertainsectorsof

thepress.Thegenuinepossibilitythat

suchevent s a reont hei ncreasedoes

exist– perhapsbecausepeopleandgulls

areincreasinglysharingthesamespace

• butthereisn’tanyreliablescientific
  indicat iont hatt heya re.Nor is t here
  datashowingt hatgullsa rebecoming
  lessafraidofpeople,ormoreaggressive.
  Numerousstudieshavelookedatthe
  d ieta nd feed i ngbeh av iou r of g u l l s.
  Gullslivingina ndclose tocities a re
  adapt able. Thei rd iet isd iver se, a nd
  includesfoodscrapsandwastesuchas
  chicken,bread,fruitandvegetables.Urban
  gullsf requentlyvisitr ubbishdumps,
  wheretheyscavengeforediblefoodstuffs.
  Thiscouldmeanthatmanypopulations
  ofgullsarebecomingmorereliantonthe
  spoilsofhumancivilisation.
  Butthesamestudiesalsoshowthat
  gullsinurbansettingswillstillglean
  prey from nearby coastal habitats, and –

surprisingly– eatnumerousitemsfrom

wasteland,grasslandandforestedges,

includingearthworms,insectsandplant

parts.Infactgullsconsumeseedsandfruit

sofrequentlythatthey’reimportantseed

dispersers.Allinall,there’snoevidence

fromdietaryorecologicalstudiesthat

gullsarebecomingmorepredatory.

So what aboutt hoserepor t s where

gullshavesupposedlydonesuchthings

a sg raba nd consu mea sma lldog, a s

reportedintheBritishpressduringthe

summerof2019?Thispossibilityisn’t

outofthequestion.Largegullscanand

docaptureandconsumesmallrabbits,

animalsnotthatdifferentinsizefrom

tinydogs.Again,however,thereareno

indicationsthatsuchbehaviourisany

morecommonthanit everwas.

Animplicationofgull-themedstories

inthepopularpressis thatgullnumbers

a re outofcont rol, a ndt hat ac t ionis

needed.Butin factmany gullspecies

a r en’t i nc r ea si ng,but dec l i n i ngto a

worryingdegree.

Themythof therapaciouskillerseagull,

witha skyrocketingurbanpopulation

t hat’si ntent onha r m i ng usisn’t just

scaremongering.It’sirresponsibleand

harmful,giventhatwe’retalkingabout

birdsthatneedour tolerance, and perhaps

even our help.

byDRDARRENNAISH(@Tet Zo o)

Darrenis a zoologist,vertebratepalaeontologistand

sciencewriter.Hislatest bookis Evolution In Minutes

(£9.99, Quercus).

You’resiingbythesea ,eatinglunch,

whensuddenlyyouspota seagulleyeing

upyourchips.Perhapsyoutrytoshooit

awayorshelteryourplateincaseofa

suddenaack.Butresearchersatthe

UniversityofExeterhavefoundthatthe

bestwaytoprotectyourfoodis tostare

thegulldown.Theteamstudiedherring

gulls’thievingbehaviourinCornwall

withthehelpofa clearbagfilledwith

chips.Onlya smallnumberofgulls

aemptedtosnatchthefood,andthose

thatdidweremorewillingtomakea

movewhenthehumanwaslooking

away.Thegullstriedtograbthechipson

average 21 secondsfasterwhenthey

wereunaendedthanwhenthehuman

wasstaringatthebird.Whethergulls

avoidthegazeoflargemammalsor

simplyhavehadbadinteractionswith

humansinthepast,theteamsaysthat

thissimplechangecouldsave a lot of

food from seagull the.

S A V E O U R

SNACKS

GET T Y X 2

COMMENT