How to stop a seagull from stealing your chips, according to science
Experts finally work out how to stop seagulls from stealing your food
- An experiment by the University of Exeter found that shouting at seagulls is an effective method to deter them from stealing food.
- Researchers tested 61 herring gulls across nine Cornish seaside towns, using recordings of a male voice shouting, speaking calmly, or a robin's birdsong.
- Nearly half of the gulls exposed to the shouting voice flew away within a minute, significantly more than those exposed to the speaking voice or birdsong.
- The study suggests gulls can detect differences in the acoustic properties of human voices, indicating they pay attention to how things are said, not just volume.
- The findings provide a peaceful way to deter gulls, emphasising that physical violence is unnecessary for these birds of conservation concern.