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Seagulls are one of the most interesting creatures on Earth. They are constantly causing problems with how brazenly they interact with humans.
People have referred to them as rats with wings or sky rats, among other things, due to the fact that they are scavengers, often unafraid to just grab what they want and fly off. Plus, they love to hang out at dumps.
Seagulls are also often heard screaming at the top of their lungs, a characteristic that was immortalized in the film Finding Nemo.
Unfortunately, all that screaming isn’t helping a bunch of seagulls that have been causing chaos for drivers in the United Kindgom recently.
According to William Morgan, a reporter for the Mirror, “Boozy birds have been wreaking havoc as they get ‘drunk’ on flying ants amidst the sweltering heatwave, leading to increased aggression and traffic mayhem. Reports have emerged of seagulls brawling and erratically waddling into roads where they meet unfortunate ends due to their intoxicated state.”
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Apparently, there have been millions of flying ants that have been swarming in temperatures hitting 88 degrees over the the United Kingdom. (Not surprising considering how much the slightest bit of heat seems to affect the U.K.)
“Some gulls are eating the many flying ants around and becoming disorientated due to the toxins ants carry.,” said a spokesperson from the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service. “We’re getting inundated with road casualty gulls. Please be careful.”
Numerous reports of seagulls causing havoc on United Kingdom roadways have been flooding social media.
“Seagulls are drunk on flying ants and going so ape. People have been complaining to us at the council all day,” one person wrote on X (Twitter), Express reports. “As if we can reason with them!”
Another said: “There are drunk seagulls on flying ant day in Sussex.”
Flying ant day, when swarms of the insects suddenly take off to create new colonies, has been happening in recent days in the South and Midlands, with the North set for the phenomenon in coming days, with another wave of ‘drunk’ gulls.
“Gulls are mad for ants when they emerge. They are little treats for them,” Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ gull expert Tony Whitehead told Express.
“Eating ants makes gulls very happy. They are distracted and focusing on eating ants rather than, for example, looking out for cars.”
On the plus side, at least these “drunk” seagulls aren’t terrorizing beach-goers the way some drug-fueled seagulls were last year.