Great black-backed gull filmed swallowing rabbit whole

Easter bunny bolted by behemoth bird

The great black-backed gull is a formidable creature. The largest of all gulls, with a wingspan of 150-170cm, and weighing in at up to 2kg, it can be aggressive in its pursuit of food.

According to the RSPB website, the bird is omnivorous, and eats “shellfish, birds and carrion”.

It does not say “live rabbits” – yet here we have a video of a greater black-backed gull chugging a fresh bunny like it’s the most trivial thing in the world.

The extraordinary incident was captured on the island of Skomer in south west Wales over Easter and was uploaded to YouTube by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

From the moment the video begins, things do not look good for the rabbit. One of a pair of great-black backed gulls has the animal by the neck and is seen thrashing it to left and right as it disables it.

Meanwhile a magpie hops past behind, providing some scale for the viewer and showing that the rabbit is by no means especially tiny.

The gull wastes no time checking its quarry is dead. In one motion the thrashing ends and the gobbling begins, with the rabbit going into the bird headfirst and whole.

In five furious gulps, the head, front legs, and almost the entire body are down the python-like gull’s bulging throat, with just the rear legs sticking out of its beak.

As the other black-backed gull wanders off out of shot, a few final violent ingurgitations sees the entire rabbit consumed by the bird, who then makes a few uncertain lateral movements as its enormous meal goes down.

“If you enjoyed this video of a great black-backed gull swallowing a rabbit, well, firstly, have a good hard look at yourself,” says Skomer warden Sylwia Zbijewska at the end of the footage.

“Secondly, please consider supporting the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales so we can continue to look after our wildlife across the region.

“Happy Easter.”

It is not the first time a British gull has surprised people with the size of its appetite.

Last July, a gull, which The Sun described as a “psycho”, swooped into a family’s garden in Devon, taking their chihuahua dog. The dog was never found.