'Animals that steal are aware of the attention of the individual they are trying to steal from.'
A scientist claims to have figured out how best to stop seagulls nicking your chips – by making eye contact with them before they attack.
Staring and pointing at the ‘klepto’ winged raiders can scare them off from trying to pinch your food on a beach day out, a professor said.
Expert in animal behaviour Paul Graham added that to avoid dive bombs from seagulls tourists should stand against a wall for protection.
Speaking to the BBC’s Inside Science podcast, the University of Sussex academic said: ‘Nobody has their chips stolen twice, it is a tax you pay as a tourist when you arrive at a seaside town.
‘You get caught once and then you find a place to stand with your back against a wall that stops the gull from having a line of attack for your chips.
‘Animals that steal are aware of the attention of the individual they are trying to steal from.’
‘If a bird is in the air, making calls, and you are worried it might try to attack you then just simply staring at that bird and pointing at it will stop it from coming towards you.’
He described gulls as a ‘kleptoparasitic’ species, they prefer stealing food from other species instead of doing the ‘hard work’ of finding it themselves.
He added: ‘One of the things they are renowned for is being kleptoparasitic, which means they steal food from other species so they are using their intelligence to be thieves rather than putting in the hard work catching that food in the first place.’
As well as giving tips on dodging chip pilfering, Prof Graham had an important message about the future of gulls.
He said: ‘In terms of foraging on human food then as a group, as a society we just need to reduce the amount of litter.
‘Each bird individually has learn to which items are desirable and if we can reduce their access to that, food in bins and on the ground, then those individuals will never develop the confidence to steal those foods from humans.’
One seagull, caught on camera stealing bags of crisps, has been banned for shoplifting from a local store.
Staff at Central shop in Weymouth, Dorset estimate the bird, nicknamed Steven Seagull, has snatched around two boxes worth of crisps in the past few weeks.
The brazen thief sneaks in when the door is open, nabs a packet, runs back outside, shakes it open, then shares the snack with his seagull friends.
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