Sep20
So, a Bird Walks Into a Bar
Posted at 11:44 AM | Permalink
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Comments (15)
OK, so not a bar exactly. Have you heard about the incredible shoplifting seagull from Aberdeen, Scotland? Apparently, the bird waits until the shopkeeper isn’t looking, then casually strolls into the store and grabs a bag of chips and takes off. Once outside, he rips the bag open and shares it with other birds. It’s become a daily occurrence and customers have actually begun paying the bird’s tab. Unreal.
Of course, here in Norfolk, the seagulls don’t have to resort to such shenanigans, as Ingrid Newkirk lives here. And, as evidenced by the industrial-sized bag of bird seed in the corner of her office, let me just say that the birds in these here parts are, umm, well fed.
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chip-eating seagull shoplifting
Comments
I LOVE that seagull. When he enters the store and grabs the stash, the crime looks, well, pre-meditated. And it was! That gull was thinking ahead, to be sure. And yet there are those who deny any such animal mentality.
Posted by: Steve | September 20, 2007 01:59 PM
You know what I love about this the most?
That the shop owner realized that this bird could be an attraction to his store, and he was interested by the bird's behavior, and did not feel that the bird was a pest that should be hurt
He was out there with a video camera and not a gun, and it is so encouraging to see a civilized person interact with animals
Posted by: kelly | September 20, 2007 02:01 PM
I watched this bird walk into the store, grab his chips and walk out.
I think it was about 2 months ago on CNN.
My grandson and I went wild.
They said he does this everyday.
Animals are truly amazing.
Bless the Animals.
Maher and Newkirk
2008
Posted by: Judith, Freedom Fighter | September 20, 2007 02:42 PM
That is so adorable!
Posted by: Rex's mom | September 20, 2007 03:34 PM
and people say birds aren't intelligent....
Posted by: Russell | September 20, 2007 03:45 PM
" Ingrid Newkirk lives here. And, as evidenced by the industrial-sized bag of bird seed in the corner of her office, let me just say that the birds in these here parts are, umm, well fed."
Well fed birds propagate quickly on artificial feeding and become overpopulated and once the feeding stops, they starve to death.
I'm sure she had her bird pets neutered?
Posted by: Mars | September 20, 2007 07:31 PM
No offence Jack, but that is sooooooooooo old.
Posted by: AnimalLib | September 21, 2007 02:11 AM
Mars, stop trying to stir shit, you make it sound like there is going to be some sort of plague of starving birds, just by Ingrid making sure they are well fed every day. You don't have to try and start an argument, just for the sake of it, it is not black and white like that. It is just a nice funny video and it is good to see people seeing it as a joke and not killing the bird. You don't have to try and take the joy out of this story now do you??
The bird is adorable, very cute.
Posted by: Laura - Jane | September 21, 2007 08:49 AM
steve no one would deny animals have learned responses. ie. seagull is fed from a certain package, recognises said package, steals package,
works out how to open package,
eats contents.
If it had of presented a five pound note and waited for change, now that would have been something.
Kelley, surely you're not advocating animal exploitation? What about it's health, it should be out getting some fresh fish, not clogging itself up with chips.
Posted by: rojo | September 21, 2007 10:17 AM
lol nice burn there Mars
Posted by: Ferretboy | September 21, 2007 10:31 AM
Birds who are "artificially" fed do not starve to death if that source of food is no longer available. That is a MYTH. Birds who are not indoors as companion animals have MANY sources of food, such as berries and insects, so if their "artificial" source is no longer there, they simply eat the other foods more often.
Posted by: Michele | September 21, 2007 10:55 AM
intelligent and altruistic to boot -- we could take a few notes from them
Posted by: Stasya Berber | September 21, 2007 12:44 PM
Mars-
Good point. IMO, there are times when feeding wild birds is appropriate. Most birds who eat seeds at feeders switch to insects during the breeding season, and depend on seeds to survive the winter. A harsh winter can decimate the population, and if you are a hands-off purist, I suppose you can say that population fluctuations are just part of nature, so let them die. But when that is allowed to happen, imported species like starlings and house sparrows take over even more than they have. I would argue for putting bird seed out during the winter months, but not otherwise. Even so, any such artificial food source is loading the dice compared to a "natural" environment, whatever that means in this day and age. Environmentalists are starting to think more in terms of "reconciliation" ecology for human-dominated areas. The idea is to promote biodiversity in highly impacted and populated areas, even if that means modifying what would occur without intervention.
Posted by: Steve | September 21, 2007 12:53 PM
"they simply eat the other foods more often."
They cannot eat what does not exist.Nature provides only so much food for X number of birds.The normal population of birds is controlled by the available food supply.Artificial feeding of any animal specie leads the animals to "think" that there is more food and they populate in response to an artificial stimilus.After that food is removed the natural food supply cannot feed all the excess animals and they starve back to the normal level or more likely, below normal.Nature does not supply an unlimited food supply.
Those chips are not a healthy choice for humans let alone the birds.
Posted by: Mars | September 22, 2007 10:38 PM
Does anyone know the name of the store? I would love to send in a donation for chips.
Posted by: Henry | September 27, 2007 12:20 PM