Seagulls are not “criminals”, but intelligent birds… that steal your food

With the return of sunny days, what could be more pleasant than eating outside. But whether it’s a real meal on the patio, a sandwich on the bench, or a snack while walking, danger lurks. Understand: seagulls and/or seagulls in ambush, ready to do anything to steal your pittance.

But as researchers explain in a new study, there’s a reason for this. Loss of their natural habitat, disappearing fish stocks, bird flu, global warming… seagulls, hit by numerous pressures, have no choice but to settle in cities if they want to survive. And here they come into conflict with people when they steal their food.

Seagulls, these intelligent birds

What we think of as harmful behavior—stealing our food—is actually a sign of their intelligence and social learning abilities.

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Also, “Rather than seeing them as pests, we should respect them birds intelligent”Professor Paul Graham of the University of Sussex told the BBC. “When we see behavior that we think of as malicious or criminal, we’re actually seeing a really intelligent bird engaging in very intelligent behavior. I think we have to learn to live with them.”

In addition to stealing food, birds living in cities have also learned to eat our waste. “Throughout their lives, they learn what discarded objects can be food, and they probably learned this from watching older birds. Over time, they develop a repertoire of very dexterous behaviors that allow them to release food from either your waste.” or directly from the people”“, the professor pointed out.

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But according to Paul Graham, there are very simple solutions to avoid attracting these birds, such as providing bigger and safer litter bins in public areas and warning people not to leave food scraps lying around.

On the other hand, it does not solve the growing problem associated with the disappearance of seagulls around the world. So the UK’s top six species are all on the decline, some very worryingly so. In Queensland, Australia, the herring gull population has fallen by 60% since the 1990s, while in France, urban bird populations – including seabirds – have fallen by 30% in ten years.