US EditionFood-snatching seagulls are more likely to leave you alone if you shout at them, researchers say
- On November 12, University of Exeter researchers published in Biology Letters that shouting a male voice made nearly half of tested herring gulls in Cornwall fly away within a minute.
- Researchers sought nonviolent deterrents and tested the acoustic effects of human voices on 61 herring gulls across nine seaside towns in Cornwall using a closed Tupperware box of chips.
- The experiment used equal-volume playback of recordings including `No, stay away, that's my food`, the same male voice spoken calmly, and robin song; researchers found only 15% of gulls flew away to the speaking voice.
- The study suggests shouting can effectively deter gulls without harm, while researchers urged beachgoers to use peaceful deterrents since gulls are a species of conservation concern.
- The work suggests gulls can discriminate human voice acoustic properties beyond loudness, unlike most wild species, with previous study on handled food showing 79% of herring gulls prefer human-handled items.
72 Articles
72 Articles
Study gives tip vs food-snatching seagulls
LONDON—Sweet talk won’t get you far if you want to scare off a seagull trying to snatch your food. Try shouting. Researchers set out to find if a man’s voice was enough to deter bandit gulls from their penchant for purloining food in seaside towns and found it was effective if delivered with more urgency. “Talking might stop them in their tracks, but shouting is more effective at making them fly away,” said Neeltje Boogert of the University of E…
The seagulls, the real scourges of picnics by the sea, can be effectively removed by a technique revealed by a British study. Nearly half of the birds fly in less than a minute...
To protect your fries, there is no need to knock in your hands. Try to speak. Gulls would be receptive to the way we speak. This is the conclusion of an experiment in Cornwall.
The easiest way to scare away seagulls that annoy you and steal your food is to shout at them, according to a recent English study.
This is the conclusion reached by researchers in the United Kingdom. Only male voices were used for the experiment.
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