A little girl learned a valuable lesson about food and seagulls while at the beach. When her cracker caught the eye of a hungry gull, it swooped in and snagged her snack right from her hand!
Alayne Galley Klopp, a realtor from Lititz, Pennsylvania, took her 1-year-old daughter, Hayden, to Bethany Beach, Delaware, for a sunny summer outing that they won’t soon forget.
A TikTok video posted by Galley Klopp on July 25 shows Hayden in her cute summer dress, delighted by the seagulls as they flock around her. While mom encourages her to eat the cracker quickly, Hayden seems mesmerized by the birds and takes her sweet time. Just when she’s in a daze, a bold gull snatches the cracker, leaving her pretty shocked but unharmed.
“I tried to scare them off before recording, but they weren’t budging, so I told her to hurry and eat,” Galley Klopp shared. She noted that Hayden loves animals and was more curious than scared by the gulls.
While Galley Klopp predicted a seagull might snatch the snack, she didn’t foresee it happening so dramatically. “Hayden is tough and didn’t cry, but she definitely guarded her food more attentively after that!” she added.
Viewers of the clip found it hilarious, with over 156,000 likes and countless comments, including one about “the lady in the back” who looked just as shocked. Others shared similar experiences of food theft from seagulls, a common beach mishap.
Interestingly, a study from the University of Sussex reveals that this behavior actually showcases the gulls’ evolving intelligence. Researchers observed how gulls in Brighton learned to associate humans with food, allowing them to become more adept at stealing snacks. Professor Paul Graham remarked that this interaction highlights their ability to adapt in urban settings.
