The secret to protecting your seaside chips from scavenging seagulls is to stare at them, scientists have said.
The birds are more likely to steal food when they can avoid the gaze of their victims, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Exeter put a bag of chips on the ground and timed how long herring gulls took to approach when they were being watched.
They compared this to how long it took for the gulls to strike when the person looked away.
The gulls took 21 seconds longer on average when they were being looked at.
The scientists tried to test 74 gulls, but most would not participate.
The last sentence made me chuckle!
Full article here
The birds are more likely to steal food when they can avoid the gaze of their victims, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Exeter put a bag of chips on the ground and timed how long herring gulls took to approach when they were being watched.
They compared this to how long it took for the gulls to strike when the person looked away.
The gulls took 21 seconds longer on average when they were being looked at.
The scientists tried to test 74 gulls, but most would not participate.
The last sentence made me chuckle!
Full article here