Seagulls dive-bombing for chips will be stopped by utilizing James Bond wall stance
A boffin says the best way to stop psycho seagulls dive-bombing you for your chips is to stealthily stand against a wall like James Bond.
Expert in animal behaviour Paul Graham says pointing at the feathered menaces and making eye contact with them can scare them off.
But to avoid dive bombs from seagulls tourists should stand against a wall for protection.
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He said: “Nobody has their chips stolen twice, it is a tax you pay as a tourist when you arrive at a seaside town.
(Image: Getty Images/500px)
“You get caught once and then you find a place to stand with your back against a wall that stops the gull from having a line of attack for your chips.
“ Animals that steal are aware of the attention of the individual they are trying to steal from.
“If a bird is in the air, making calls, and you are worried it might try to attack you then just simply staring at that bird and pointing at it will stop it from coming towards you.”
He described gulls as a ‘kleptoparasitic’ species, they prefer stealing food from other species instead of doing the ‘hard work’ of finding it themselves.
(Image: Getty Images)
“One of the things they are renowned for is being kleptoparasitic, which means they steal food from other species so they are using their intelligence to be thieves rather than putting in the hard work catching that food in the first place,” Professor Graham said.
As well as giving tips on dodging chip pilfering, Prof Graham had an important message about the future of gulls.
“In terms of foraging on human food then as a group, as a society we just need to reduce the amount of litter,” he said.
“Each bird individually has learn to which items are desirable and if we can reduce their access to that, food in bins and on the ground, then those individuals will never develop the confidence to steal those foods from humans.”
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