Tired of seagulls stealing your chips? Point out birds and make eye contact to deter them from diving, claims expert
Nothing ruins a relaxing day at the coast like a seagull swooping in and stealing your chips.
But help is at hand: a scientist claims to have found a way to stop seagulls from stealing your food.
According to Professor Paul Graham, professor of neuroethology at the University of Sussex, the most important thing is to point and make eye contact.
Staring and pointing at the klepto wings can deter them and prevent them from stealing your food when you’re out for a day at the beach, he says.
Professor Graham added that tourists should stand against a wall to protect themselves from dive bombing by seagulls.
Nothing ruins a relaxing trip to the seaside like a seagull coming in and stealing your chips. But help is at hand, as a scientist claims to have discovered how to stop seagulls stealing your food
The University of Sussex academic told the BBC podcast Inside Science: ‘No one gets to deal with stolen chips twice. It’s a tax you pay as a tourist when you arrive at a seaside resort.
‘You get caught once and then you find a place to stand with your back against the wall so the seagull doesn’t have a line of attack on your chips.
‘Animals that steal are aware of the attention of the individual from whom they are trying to steal.
‘If there is a bird in the sky making noises and you are afraid that it is going to attack you, you can just look at it and point at it. That way you will prevent it from coming to you.’
He described gulls as a ‘kleptoparasitic’ species, preferring to steal food from other species rather than do the ‘hard work’ of finding the food themselves.
“They are known to be kleptoparasitic, which means they steal food from other species. They use their intelligence to steal rather than working hard to catch that food,” Professor Graham said.
In addition to tips on preventing wood theft, Prof. Graham had an important message about the future of seagulls.
βWhen it comes to human food collection, as a group, as a society, we just need to reduce the amount of waste,β he said.
“Each bird has to learn individually what things are desirable. If we can restrict their access to that food, in the garbage cans and on the ground, then these individuals will never develop the confidence to steal that food from people.”