In the annual battle of the seaside promenade, where hungry beach-goers face off against hungrier gulls, the humans have a new weapon to save their chips: the hard stare.
A study has shown that maintaining eye contact with seagulls deters them from stealing your lunch. In contrast, holidaymakers who avert their gaze from the birds’ beady yellow eyes are more likely to lose a chip as a consequence.
The research was conducted in coastal towns over Cornwall, and involved placing a portion of chips in front of a human researcher. Much like a fairground game, however, the whole thing was rigged. The chips were sealed in a transparent bag and weighed down so that the seagull could never actually get access to the chips.
Seagulls
