Stare at gulls, if you don't want them to steal your lunch
Herring gulls hesitate longer to steal your food if you gaze at them.
The shock threw me back into my chair and my fork fell to the ground with a clanking sound. The white blur of feathers had appeared out of nowhere and was gone before I could even process what had happened. In disbelief, I stared at my now-empty plate, with the last piece of my potato chips gone.
What is one of my earliest childhood memories from a holiday on the German coast of the Baltic Sea is a common sight in coastal towns around the world: gulls stealing food from humans. Scientists call it kleptoparasitism, tourists call it a plague. In recent decades, gulls have been moving into urban areas more and more, nesting on our rooftops instead of cliffs—and stealing our lunch instead of hunting fish.
People have come up with various ways to deal with this problem. Some have tried using an umbrella to shield their food from aerial attacks. Others have resorted to much more aggressive measures — people have killed gulls after the birds had stolen their food. The good news is that there are far more humane ways to prevent your lunch from taking flight. Researchers have discovered that gulls hesitate to steal your food if you stare at them1.
The scientists from the University of Exeter tested food stealing behavior of European herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in coastal towns in Cornwall, UK. The study design was simple: With a gull present nearby and not flying, an experimenter placed a box of fried potato chips 1.5 meters in front of them. They then measured the time it took for the gull to approach the food while the experimenter either gazed at the gull or looked away. The results showed that gaze direction made a significant difference.
The gulls hesitated longer to approach and touch the food box if the experimenter stared at them—taking about 21 seconds longer compared to trials where the experimenter looked in another direction.
Interestingly, though, the effect of gazing varied considerably between individuals. Some gulls approached the food within less than 10 seconds, no matter in which direction the experimenter looked. Other individuals did not approach the food at all if the gaze was targeted in their direction. Apparently, some gulls are much more sensitive to eye contact than others.
Try it out!
It may be hard to believe: but herring gulls are on the UK’s Red List of conservation concern. Due to human-driven changes in their environment, the population of British herring gulls declined by 60% between 1969 and 2015. The increasing conflicts between these birds and tourists in coastal towns only add to the problem.
Let’s help herring gulls thrive, but in the right way. Never feed them. And if you want to keep your lunch for yourself, you now know what to do.
Have a wonderful rest of the week! All the best,
PS: A little fun fact for you: based on the findings from that study, the researchers tested whether gulls would be deterred from stealing food if googly eyes were glued to take-away boxes. The initial results were promising: the birds indeed hesitated longer before approaching food boxes with eyes on them. Very quickly, however, the gulls learned that these eyes were harmless and resumed their usual bold behavior. Smart birds!
I love this, thanks Maja. A humane way of dealing with the unwanted behaviour. Will try it out.
Hahaha imma try this! In Hobart the gulls are not too bad. Mostly we just laugh at them because they’re so fun to watch