Seagulls are watching, waiting and staging coordinated attacks on humans
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Seagulls are watching, waiting and staging coordinated attacks on humans")
Seagull menace happened at the Easter Egg hunt in Scotland. Photograph: (Unsplash)
Seagull menace has taken over Scotland, where the birds are launching coordinated attacks on people in parks and city centres. During Easter egg hunts, at least 16 such incidents were reported in one place. The gulls are watching for opportunities and “repeatedly swooping” in.
Experts have warned that the seagull attacks are becoming increasingly coordinated after a group of them attacked people celebrating Easter at a park. The incident happened at an Easter Egg hunt in Inverness, where people had to duck and scramble for cover as the birds swooped at the crowds. The organisers of the event, Inverness Business Improvement District (BID), said that at least 16 such incidents involving seagulls happened on the day. Experts say that the birds are carrying out these acts in a highly coordinated manner and ambushing people by finding the right opportunity. BID ambassador, Janice Worthing, said the ambush is "frequent and coordinated behaviour from adult gulls." She said the birds stay around, watch and strike when they find the right opportunity. Worthing said, when they find opportunities, they call in others before “repeatedly swooping at and, in some cases, striking members of the public, including young children.”
Seagull management programmes
She has told people to remain alert as the seagull breeding season has started. "We expect conflict and, in some cases, injuries. Gulls are really quick and can strike suddenly and decisively," Worthing said. Looking at the increasing cases of seagulls, programmes to manage the situation are being planned. Highland Council has devised a new reporting tool where the public can report encounters with aggressive seagulls. They are required to tell the date, location and describe the incidents. This data will be used to devise management projects to tackle the seagull menace. A council spokesperson told STV News that the data will help "determine whether patterns or hotspots exist" and if the aggressive behaviour could be because of "chick protection" or linked to "food scavenging".
Flap your arms, draw googly eyes to deter seagulls
However, dealing with the problem will be tricky since, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, capturing or injuring any wild bird, or damaging and disturbing nests or eggs, is illegal. The spokesperson said that this "meaningful and reliable data will support a targeted and proportionate approach to advising on appropriate mitigation measures to reduce negative interactions between gulls and people." Last year, an audit of the gull population in coastal communities was proposed by Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross after a woman in Elgin fell and broke her leg. But it was rejected for being too costly. NatureScot, the Scottish Government's nature and wildlife quango, advised attendees at a private seagull summit to wave their arms above their heads while walking to keep the birds away. People were also advised to draw googly eyes on takeaway boxes, saying that the "birds do not like being stared at."
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