New research has found that shouting, especially in a male voice, is enough to scare away seagulls circling for your food.
If you’ve ever had your lunch stolen by a cheeky seagull, science now has a solution: shout at them.
According to new research from , raise your voiceespecially for men, can make herring gulls (Larus argentatus) think twice before attacking your food.
published in the journal Biology Letters, explored how different tones of human voices affect the behavior of urban gulls. Researchers placed a container of potato chips on the ground in nine coastal towns, observing 61 seagulls as they reacted to different audio recordings. When a curious seagull approached, one of three recordings was played: a male voice saying firmly “No, stay away, this is my food” in a calm or aggressive tone, or the song of a robin as a control.
The results were clear. Although a neutral speaking voice caused some hesitation, only 15% of the seagulls actually flew away. In contrast, when the command was shouted, most of the seagulls fled in less than a minute. The robin’s sounds, in turn, had almost no effect, with more than two-thirds of the birds staying close to the chips.
Neeltje Boogert, from the Center for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, said the findings show that seagulls are sensitive not only to what humans say, but also how they say it. “We discovered that seagulls they were more vigilant and pecked less the food container when they heard a male voice,” Boogert explained. “But shouting made them more likely to fly away, while speaking calmly only made them move away.”
Interestingly, recordings from the five volunteers had a similar impact, suggesting that it is the emotional tone rather than the specific words that drives the gulls away. “Normally, when someone shouts, It’s scary because it’s loud“, said Boogert. “But in this case, the volume was the same on all recordings. The difference was entirely in the tuning.”
The researchers also stressed that the objective is not to encourage hostility towards birds. Seagulls are often misunderstood and are a species of conservation concern. “Most seagulls not really brave enough to steal food from people,” Boogert noted. “We don’t want anyone to hurt them, this shows that there are peaceful ways to push them away.”
