Don’t be afraid to raise your voice. To chase away seagulls eyeing your snack along the beach, there’s no need to make big gestures or clap your hands: nothing is more effective than screaming, according to a study published this Wednesday, November 12 by researchers from the University of Exeter in England. Specializing in animal behavior, these scientists visited nine coastal towns in Cornwall, southwest England, and observed no less than 61 seagulls.
To test their hypothesis, they strategically placed the chips where the birds could easily find them. As soon as a seagull, smelling the windfall, began to approach, the researchers broadcast three different recordings. In the first, a male voice shouted: “No, don’t come any closer, this is my food, this is my cake!” Same script for the second one, but with a conversational tone. As for the third, it was a simple robin’s song.
The results left no doubt about the best way to get rid of these birds, who know better than anyone how to ruin a relaxing lunch break on the beach: almost half of the birds affected by the cry flew away in less than a minute. Common words were less successful: only 15% of seagulls flew. However, the brave ones stay away from the food, smelling danger.
As for the robin’s song, it turned out to be not very effective: 70% of the gulls exposed to the melody remained near the food throughout the experiment.
Recordings of screams and spoken words while speaking are played at the same sound level. “That was just now the way the words are said different”, explains Neeltje Boogert, a member of the Ecology Center at Exeter’s Penryn campus in Cornwall. “So it seems that gulls pay attention to the way we speak, which to our knowledge has never been observed in any wild species.” he continued. “When you are trying to scare away seagulls that are trying to steal your food, talking can stop them in their tracks, but shouting is more effective at getting them to fly away,” concluded the researcher.
This experiment aims to show that physical violence is not necessary to repel seagulls. “We want to prevent people from hurting them,” underlines Neeltje Boogert, who confirms that fact“There are peaceful ways (to keep them away) without having to make physical contact.” So the next time seagulls threaten your peaceful seaside picnic, choose nonviolence and scream.
