Seagulls are preyed upon by foxes and minks. Maybe if y'all hadn't been so obsessed with hunting every last fox or mink for their furs, the seagull population would be more manageable?
@CorruptUser at least in Finland there is a clear difference between the behaviour of seagulls in cities and seagulls outside of cities, the primary problem with seagulls in populated areas isn't their number but their aggressive behaviour. Even though a large number of aggressive seagulls is of course worse than a small number of aggressive seagulls & foxes are known to live in populated areas I have yet to hear of a fox that has learned to climb a ladder to the roof of a multi-story building where seagulls living in populated areas tend to nest, so even if there were a lot of foxes in a given city/town, their effect on the size of the local seagull population would be negligible.
If your talking about the UK then.
a) mink are foreign species that escaped from captivity and are a serious threat to many native wild animals which is what they need to be exterminated in the wild.
b) Foxes have never been hunted for their fur. Just as an idiotic blood sport by moronic perverts.
'@stevep59' Humans are an invasive species from Africa that is a danger to the native wild animals anywhere they go, which is why we need to exterminate them.
By the way, potatoes are an invasive species. Do you ever eat potato chips? Well then you are making the problem worse!
I recall a time down by the beach (mouth of the Columbia River) watching a bunch of seagulls eating crap by the boat ramp. Off to one side was a big old raven, just watching. Twice the size of the seagulls. Every once in a while a seagull would find a choice bit of dead sea creature and the raven would fly over and steal it. On the one hand, that raven was an asshole. On the other, good on him for working smarter, not harder.
@Tarmaque Ravens are FREAKISHLY smart. I live out in the southwest and ours are huge; got followed by a pair (mated, probably) through Petrified Forest Nat'l Park after the first time I gave the bigger of the two some chicken from my sandwich (yeah I know, not supposed to feed them) and every time I stopped over the next few hours they'd land by my car and wait until I paid attention and... paid tribute, I guess. EVERY TIME. At least it was organic roast chicken. They wouldn't take it from my fingers and one of the two was a bit more nervous than the other, so the braver one would eat his, pick the uneaten scrap up, and fly with it to where the other was and feed it to them. But they followed me while I drove and they flew, all through the park. These two had learned how to farm people.
@Ysabet I've lived around Ravens most of my life. They are very smart. They're the only wild animal in the world that will fly towards a gunshot. They figure out that a gunshot probably means a dead animal for them to feed on. Ravens are super cool.
No relative of a chicken is intimidating me out of leaving my house. You can get out of my way, or I can feed you to my cats (well, give them a share).
Make your choice, gull.
@Hinoron **snicker** I grew up in a seaside town. Good luck with your ultimatum; I'm sure it'll be a great comfort when an entire flock decides to settle above your car-- or front porch-- or work-place-- or where you walk-- or wherever-- and shits about 15 pounds of gullcrap onto an area the size of two parking-spaces. Happened in my high-school's parking lot on a random student's VW, nobody could figure out why. Ugh... I agree, I'd go out too, but I'd carry an umbrella and plan my route. Nature is weird and has a sense of humor.
@Ysabet
Usually when that happens, it's because he had food in the car. The car warmed up in the sun, and the smell of food heating got out through the vents. They hung around looking for a way in so long they needed bathroom breaks... except, being seagulls they don't use restrooms and just go wherever they are.
To anyone interested in countries' football rivalry, or even if you couldn't care less about football/soccer like I do, this video, and its shoutout to Denmark, is hilarious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQPzfvkqhk