A WILDLIFE rescue expert claimed it was “perfectly normal” for birds to eat each other after a huge seagull was caught on camera devouring a pigeon.
Trevor Weeks, founder and director of the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service, said the “prehistoric” black-backed gull filmed eating a pigeon in a children’s playground could swallow a pigeon whole.
In the video, taken on Wednesday May 5, the large bird can be seen walking towards the pigeon before picking it up and swallowing it.
He then slowly walks away from the crime scene and perches on top of a tunnel in the children’s play area.
The footage scared Tyrone Campbell, who took the video, saying he knew the owner of a small dog who was suspicious of the bird.
However, Mr. Weeks reassured dog owners that the bird was “unlikely” to eat a chihuahua.
He said: “It is perfectly normal for gulls and other birds to take and kill other birds.
“The herring gull is unlikely to swallow a pigeon because it is not big enough. Bigger gulls like black-backed gulls are bigger and would.
“While I can understand the concerns and concerns of residents, such a bird is unlikely to take on a companion dog.
“I doubt their throats are big enough to swallow one. Wild pigeons are quite small and weigh 0.2-0.4 kg compared to a Chihuahua who weighs 1.8-2.7 kg.
“It can be distressing to see a wild animal take and kill another wild animal, however, it is perfectly natural and it is no different from the lions and tigers that do in Africa.
“Our domestic dogs and cats kill millions of wild animals and birds every year, so we shouldn’t be shocked by this. Unfortunately, we can’t expect wildlife to be vegetarian.”
It comes after a wildlife expert told The Argus that the bird is not the “evil threat some people seem to think”.
At the time, Roger Musselle, who runs Roger’s Wildlife Rescue at Woodingdean, said: “It is a beautiful and noble bird, as anyone looking at a year in their life will notice.
“Their care for the education of their families is second to none and we can learn a lot from them about the care of our children.
“Herring gulls are not the evil threat some people seem to think.”
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-02 20:59:23
