Staring seagulls in the eye can stop them stealing your food.
Bizarre on Female First
According to a new study, the secret to stopping the scavenging birds swiping your snacks is to look at them directly as they're more likely to steal food when they can avoid the gaze of their victims.
The research from the University of Exeter showed that gulls took 21 seconds longer on average when they were being looked at.
lead author Madeleine Goumas, from of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus, said: ''Gulls are often seen as aggressive and willing to take food from humans, so it was interesting to find that most wouldn't even come near during our tests.
''Of those that did approach, most took longer when they were being watched.
''Some wouldn't even touch the food at all, although others didn't seem to notice that a human was staring at them.