Aggressive Seagulls

[ckay87]

I've seen some really surprisingly aggressive seagulls lately and it got me thinking.....was it always this way? I've recently had them:

• Unpack my beach bag to get to some packed snacks
• Take a granola bar from my hand
• Attempt to take food from me AS I was putting it in my mouth

...and I honestly don't remember them always being this gutsy. Or did I just never notice? If they are becomming more aggressive, is this a form of adaptation, do you think? Do you think it will get even worse, over time? If seashore vacation spots have been in existence for about 100 years (that is my VERY uneducated guess), what will they be like in another 100 years?

 

[TDC Nala]

People feed them, and they're not afraid of people. They also come to understand that people = food. Seagulls are pretty gutsy birds to start with.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I can't comment on the science but I spend a lot of time at the beach and in touristy areas I think the sea gulls are a lot more aggressive.

 

[pumba]

For quite a few years the gulls at Reid State Park in Maine seem to think that hot dogs are theirs for the grabbing....I remember a few years back a lady was just getting hers at the lunch shack and a seagull grabbed it as she was getting ready to take a bite....they are agressive because they associate food with people and lets face it......Seagulls and other birds (like the ones in Disney) do not do good health wise with people food...
Someone said an umbrella at the ocean and other places keep the birds in bay...

 

[DebD4T]

Last summer a seagull grabbed an unopened bag of Doritos and was trying to rip it open.

How did it even know there was food in it?? It was sealed so you couldn't smell it!! And I'm pretty sure that seagulls can't read. LOL

 

[TDC Nala]

Where is that old video of a seagull walking into a store and walking out with a bag of Doritos?

Oh here he is. On Snopes, which confirms he is for real...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I had a similar thought at the beach last week (coincidentally, not far from Reid State Park as pp mentioned.) A gull swooped down and took the sandwich right from a teen's hand. My kids and I ate tucked up in our sun tent thing. The gulls could have come in, but there was no swooping and sneaking up on us.

I do agree it's an adaptation, unfortuantely of people feeding them. Learned behavior.

 

[4greatboys]

From my experience they have always been aggressive. I can remember going to the beach back in high school (the early 80's) and being dived bombed by the seagulls while we tried to eat our lunch.

 

[justanotherdiser]

Have you seen this video of a seagull stealing a video camera? I think it was staged so that the seagull would take it, but I think that the seagull definitely flew off with it.

 

[rebelfreek]

I have seen rice krispy treats stolen from children's hands on multiple occasions, i think they learn what they like and they will steal it if they see it...

 

[miralys]

I see more and more evidence of animals losing their fear of people, and I think a large part of it is because people do feed them. It's sad because it means animals are now in situations they should not be (high traffic, exposed to people who will torture/harm them, domestic situations where they will be put down rather than relocated).

P.S. Now I have that scene with the seagulls from Finding Nemo in my head

 

[Goofyluver]

We were at Sea World a few years back and we got some fish to feed the sea lions. The lady at the kiosk warned me that "there were some sneaky seagulls" and that I should protect our fish.

I hand my 4 y.o. niece a small dish of fish and she is sooooo excited. She stands at the edge of the sea lion pen and is promptly attacked by a gull who steals her fish. And then bam! My son's fish is stolen.

I guarded the rest of our fish like it was the only thing between life and death.

That same trip I was goosed by a rogue duck at Epcot. I call it the "unlucky bird trip".

 

[ckay87]

I have seen rice krispy treats stolen from children's hands on multiple occasions, i think they learn what they like and they will steal it if they see it...

I think you're right about this. There is a specific french fry place in Ocean City NJ where they just hang out, waiting for people to walk out with their fries. Then they just go for it. I sat and watched it for a while. It was entertaining and disturbing at the same time.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I've always known them to be that way at the Jersey shore, if they could smell it it was theirs. I wasn't expecting it from the birds in Orlando though so when one dive bombed a friend for fries at EPCOT and stole food from my kids at AK I was stunned, I guess I though it was only a Jersey bird thing

Best guess, I bet it happens when the birds can't find enough through scavenging, or if there is a lot of competition for what they do find.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I live at the ocean and they've been that way as far back as I can remember..... I will say, though, that I've never had one of our local seagulls take food out of my hand. They will take things out of bags though.

 

[dngnb8]

Nothing Alka Seltzer and water soaked bread cant fix. Seagulls are Water Rats with Wings

Im not suggesting anything. It is just as a kid, they didnt appreciate the combo.....

Think BOOM

 

[Anna_Marie]

I think you're right about this. There is a specific french fry place in Ocean City NJ where they just hang out, waiting for people to walk out with their fries. Then they just go for it. I sat and watched it for a while. It was entertaining and disturbing at the same time.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Where is that old video of a seagull walking into a store and walking out with a bag of Doritos?

Oh here he is. On Snopes, which confirms he is for real...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp

I love that video!

I have to say that I also think that seagulls are getting more aggressive. When I was a kid in California, they'd only grab the food that was sitting out. Now they grab it right out of your hand. I do believe it's because of the ignorant people that feed them. They learn to associate people with food, and that it's OK to take food out of a person's hand.

 

[bettymae1121]

Not a bird but a racoon. DH was camping once and he said while he was in his tent doing something (probably still setting up, he'd just gotten there that day) he heard the latches on his cooler pop open. He pokes his head out and a racoon was digging through his cooler, he'd opened the thing like he did it every day (this cooler had latches that folded over to snap the lid shut tight). He said his only thought was if the racoon next popped open a beer, he was just going to quietly pack everything up again and go home because clearly that would be a sign that the animals were taking the forest back!

 

[castmember19]

Where is that old video of a seagull walking into a store and walking out with a bag of Doritos?

Oh here he is. On Snopes, which confirms he is for real...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp

I have never seen this before! I'm cracking up!