Have you ever noticed that as soon as you enjoy a snack at the beach, a flock of seagulls surround you?
Even though it is in our nature to feed them, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) says it’s actually bad for them.
Sanccob says seagulls are scavengers and harass humans for food, but this carries the risk of infecting the birds with botulism, which can be fatal.
Lindsay Gomez, a regular at Blouberg Beach, told TygerBurger it breaks her heart seeing seagulls ask for food and she usually ends up feeding them.
She never knew it was not good for them.
“I always thought that the food I give them is okay as they tend to come back for more. Next time, I will try to pack in food their tiny stomachs can digest,” she says.
Gulls are omnivorous and normally scavenge for shellfish, other birds, eggs and carrion.
Microplastics
Seabirds are known to ingest plastics whilst at sea, mistaking them for prey items and often leading to the birds’ death.
“Less visible than fishing gear entanglement or ingestion of larger pieces of plastic, microplastic ingestion has been shown to be a problem for many organisms; however, it is often not well documented nor understood,” Sanccob says.
They are working closely with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on a study assessing the prevalence of microplastics in coastal seabirds, such as gulls and terns.
Help Sanccob
To report any incidents of seabirds, contact Sanccob’s Table View branch at 021 557 6155 and 078 638 3731 (emergency after hours).
Report other wildlife in distress:
For seals contact the SPCA on 021 700 4158/9 and 083 326 1604 (emergency line).
For turtles contact the Two Oceans Aquarium on 021 418 3823 or 083 326 1604 (emergency line).
