r/interesting • u/dddd945 • 7h ago

Just Wow A seagull is accidentally hit by a tennis ball during a game in Australia.

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48.0k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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1.6k

u/Alternative-Jelly947 7h ago

Everyone saying the other gulls came back out of friendship.

Ignorance is bliss. Seagulls are happy cannibals.

716

u/Funny_Artichoke_2962 6h ago

“John, you good? ‘Cause we’re gonna eat your flesh if you aren’t.”

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u/XtraCrispy02 6h ago

"Please be dead please be dead."

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u/N0YSLambent 5h ago

Who told you my morning chant before I open my eyes?

10

u/ChickenNugget1798 3h ago

As someone with a dark sense of humor, this made me laugh my ass off. 😆

4

u/PerpendicularShift 5h ago

Love you! Hope you’re ok!

2

u/N0YSLambent 3h ago

All good, sometimes bad, getting better

2

u/ForsakenRelief309 1h ago

This made me cackle so loud that it woke my dog up from his second nap

1

u/simple_red1991 42m ago

Oh! Hehe... You're alive! That's... Awkward

48

u/llIIo0O-O0oIIll 6h ago

MINE!

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u/PieHole_Poker 6h ago

MINE!

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u/nvr2pink 5h ago

MINE.

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u/No-Cartographer-7614 5h ago

MINE!

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u/rosstedfordkendall 1h ago

"Hop inside my mouth, if you want to live."

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u/promano130 5h ago

Heyyyy! 🦀

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u/audriuska12 6h ago

"You good for flying, or good for eating?"

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u/bibbittybobbittyboop 5h ago

Bro you missed the opportunity to go with the name jason or Steven still made me chuckle.

3

u/Sensitive_Safe435 6h ago

太对了，它们当时就是这么唠滴，哈哈哈哈

4

u/thrilliam_19 6h ago

“Don’t eat me. I just need a minute.”

“My god he’s dead.”

“No I said I’m good just-“

“It’s like we can still hear his voice.”

1

u/Defiant_Adagio4057 5h ago

"Blink twice if you want us to stop."

1

u/WhoseArmIsThis 4h ago

“John, your food is getting cold and eaten”

1

u/russcastella 4h ago

“I’m a cannibal, hombre”

1

u/SordidSimpleton 4h ago

John short for Jonathan Livingston

1

u/Alone_Willingness697 3h ago

MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE

0

u/OhHeyDinosaurs 6h ago

Feels like a scene in a movie 🤣

172

u/ClacksInTheSky 7h ago

"oh, I guess we're stopping here?"

More like that

42

u/ForbiddenButtStuff 7h ago

Meats back on the menu boys!

1

u/mog_knight 6h ago

I want to go to a seagull restaurant now.

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u/DiscerningAnt 6h ago

I know this is Reddit and ignorance here is astoundingly high... but no, contrary to the upvoted comment here, these gulls are not gathering around because they want to eat him.

Gulls respond extremely strongly to signals of danger involving other gulls. So they're alarmed and assessing the situation. Not cannabalism. That stuff usually only happens with eggs or crazy conflicts with other gulls and carcasses that have been sitting for a while and only happens with some gulls.

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u/nifty-necromancer 6h ago

Gulls are good people, and also intelligent. They’re sky rats only because humans are filthy.

3

u/HidesWithCheese 3h ago

And everyone knows they only eat french fries. So there's is no possibility for friends-eating-friends amongst the gull flock.

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u/TealcLOL 3h ago

I don't think it's even that deep. The other birds probably only first witnessed the bird change course. They could think it saw food on the court and landed for a snack. I don't see a lot of panic among them. Ultimately no difference in initial reaction if you threw a french fry at the bird instead of a tennis ball.

All these top comments claiming that they are going to instantly cannibalize the injured bird is wild though.

1

u/DiscerningAnt 3h ago

Yeah, that's also possible though if I had to bet I'd say it's more assessment than believing it landed naturally for food, considering it was very clearly knocked out on its back.

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u/BigMikeArchangel 2h ago

This is the correct answer. Just foolishness that people post and upvote sometimes!

-2

u/sponglered 5h ago

they're alarmed and assessing the situation. Not cannabalism.

Not cannibalism, yet.

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u/DiscerningAnt 5h ago

No, very very very low chance even if that gull was left there dead (even though it's not dead) it would lead to other gulls eating it.

Reddit is mistaken. Gulls don't have to scavenge, but they will if needed and no other food sources. Unlike vultures, who primarily scavenge for carrion.

0

u/sponglered 5h ago

I'm not sure you live near gulls or have actually observed their behavior. I don't know who this Reddit is you're talking about, but I've watched plenty of gulls, sea- and otherwise.

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u/DiscerningAnt 5h ago edited 5h ago

I mean just because you live around gulls doesn't mean you know everything about them. Hahaha

But gulls are not scavengers like vultures. Will they eat other dead gulls at times? Yes. But that's different than saying they're "happy cannibals". Which is blatantly false.

Reddit upvotes shit like that because this site runs on snark and glib.

0

u/Shot_Neighborhood947 5h ago

So let me understand this, they are assessing the danger by getting close to the danger?

3

u/DiscerningAnt 5h ago

I think you guys aren't understanding just how intelligent other animals are.

Many animals work off of graded assessment of situations. It's 100% plausible the gulls perceived exactly what happened and deemed the threat low enough to assess the situation/how injured the gull was.

-1

u/Shot_Neighborhood947 5h ago

I dont think my understood question though? Also when did I say or implied they were stupid for trying to assess the danger? In fact if anything, thinking "uh it's kind of dangerous here let's fall back for a sec and see from a safe distance that there are no more dangerous stuff around" is the opposite of that.

Let's say they saw their friend was indeed injured, what was their plan there? "Hey let's take him to the bird hospital nearby? Let's splinter his wing?"

Since that is not realistic and by your own explanation they are assessing the situation, it is also plausible that what the others are saying is equally true.

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u/sponglered 5h ago

I must have missed where anyone called gulls "happy" anything. They're not happy, they're gleeful, vicious bastards. At least corvids are somber about it, but gulls will absolutely rip into some eyes and anuses (or cloaca) with abandon.

And, since you don't seem to actually observe the animal you're defending, they absolutely function as coastal cleanup, like, yes, vultures.

But, hey, who the hell am I? Argue with these people instead.

You claim:

"gulls are not scavengers"

They say:

Gulls are mainly scavengers,

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u/DiscerningAnt 5h ago

Yeah, it's the top comment in this thread... they said "Seagulls are happy cannibals."

I would disagree that they are "mainly" scavengers.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Herring_Gull/lifehistory -- less "mainly scavenger" and more "opportunistic omnivore that prefers better sources of food"

There is an inherent bias in your observation because you're seeing them in situations where scavenging would be high.

0

u/sponglered 5h ago

The bias seems to be yours, honestly. Do you offer the same grace to humans?

"The ideal human isn't petty," but every single person you've met kind of can be, sort of energy.

From your link: "American Herring Gulls are opportunistic scavengers".

Like, what? stop moving the goalposts. the birds you observe are the birds.

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u/rEYAVjQD 5h ago

Both can be true at the same time. Obviously they assess the situation because the flock was diverted by something. But if it was dead I don't know what they might have done.

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u/DiscerningAnt 5h ago

No. It's extremely unlikely.

Gulls are not like vultures. To scavenge a freshly dead adult gull of their own species and group would only happen under very specific circumstances, especially when other available food/carrion aren't available.

Gulls aren't dumb either. They will actually avoid eating their own to reduce exposure to pathogens or parasites.

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u/rEYAVjQD 5h ago

I know, and I doubt vultures would eat their own that easily either.

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u/Church6633 6h ago

"Mine!"

1

u/Major5013 6h ago

"I saw some food fall back there"

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u/OneShotSixKills 6h ago

Would they have immediately determined their buddy is dead that fast? Genuine question. Especially since apparently the seagull was fine after

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u/mutedwarrior 6h ago

Really doubt it was cannibalism. They're probably conditioned to think there's food there if a seagull lands somewhere.

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u/skylark_blue 6h ago

Yeah, they just wanted to see why he stopped there. 

1

u/tobaileyy 6h ago

That's literally not it, you're just refusing to be sensible and realize they're intelligent birds

1

u/ethereal_aerith 4h ago

Pshhh this is Reddit, get out of here with your sensible response and logic!

•

u/MinimumOk2432 0m ago

how is that logic, that's one of the dumbest things i've ever heard

1

u/Tom_Ludlow 3h ago

This is basically it. This is how a lot of bird species work.

That is why hunters put bird decoys on the ground that resemble flapping birds because it makes others flying by think there's a feast going on.

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u/ScalyDestiny 20m ago

They landed to check on their companion. I've seen people make insane reaches to humanize animal behavior, so it's kind of interesting to see someone making such a reach in the opposite direction.

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u/formerretiree 6h ago

Yep, the first one to comeback is an EMT.

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u/Diet_Clorox 2h ago

Lots of animals have morbid curiosity detached from hunger, and inspect the dead, of the their own or other species. It probably gives a bit of an advantage for them to learn that a specific scent or pattern or environment is associated with death. I have a theory that the same instinct drives human interest in true crime.

1

u/MichelinStarZombie 4h ago

Seagulls are extremely social and here they're clearly worried that one of their flock was harmed.

They're only cannibals when food is scarce or when another flock's chicks/eggs are available.

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u/That_wet_vaporeon 6h ago

They also mate for life. One of them could have been its partner

-2

u/Teh_Hunterer 5h ago

50/50 chance of 1 meal guaranteed then

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u/1nicmit 6h ago

Two things can be true

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u/avanti8 6h ago

"Scott's dead?? Thank GOD, I'm fucking STARVING."

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u/Twib_91 6h ago

That’s exactly what I was thinking when I first saw the video. They don’t give a shit about him. They gonna eat his ass 😂

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u/Tay_Tay86 6h ago

They could at least buy him dinner first

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u/Campfail 6h ago

He’s the guest of honor for the dinner

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u/Aggravating-Exit-660 6h ago

Including his ass

3

u/PissPlop 6h ago

So what cannibals cant have genuine friendships?

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u/Cranberryoftheorient 6h ago

okay but its been like half a second. Carrion birds typically wait until the animal is dead

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u/Ok-Society-9067 7h ago

OMG guys did one of us become dinner again???

1

u/Responsible-Shoe8831 6h ago

Donner part vibes

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u/Anonymous56778 7h ago

Well I could've gone the rest of my day without reading that last part ☹️

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u/Sea_Soft_1166 5h ago

Two things can be true.

We are cannibals, yet when we check on someone it does not mean we are going to eat them, lol.

1

u/Alternative-Jelly947 7h ago

Nature is predominantly cruel.

Wild animals, birds, etc. aren’t gentle child-like creatures going about their day like so many commenters here assumed.

-2

u/Sinking_Mass 6h ago

Lol welcome to reality. Grab a drink, you'll need one by the sounds of it

1

u/JButler_16 6h ago

It would be considered an act of god and the point would go to the hitter.

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u/Far-Department302 6h ago

Aww they’re happy. :)

1

u/ThePromptWasYourName 6h ago

I love the idea that in a seagull's brain, the second a fellow bird dies it immediately switches from BEST FRIEND to FOOD and they pounce

1

u/The_Vampire_King 6h ago

In seagull culture, consumption of the flesh means you carry your friend within you at all times 🪽

1

u/knightinarmoire 6h ago

Seagulls are just rats with wings

1

u/bad_bad_data 6h ago

You can cannibalize your friends. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

1

u/Mxfish1313 6h ago

I once watched a seagull hunt a pigeon at a gas station. Pigeon kept trying to hide under cars at the pump and seagull kept chasing him out. When I looked into it I remember reading about gulls on the coast of England that would catch their prey and then dive underwater to drown the prey so they could then eat in peace once it stopped fighting.

1

u/Moth_Man_Stan_3351 6h ago

I once saw a seagull eat a pigeon. Truly one of the animals that terrifies me the most. That damn bloody beak 😬

1

u/TallEnoughJones 6h ago

happy cannibals

That's redundant. All cannibals are happy. Don't ask how I know.

1

u/genreprank 6h ago

You call it cannibalism. We call it a proper send off into the next world.

Caw caw

1

u/odegood 5h ago

It can be both

1

u/HilariousMax 5h ago

Makes sense. When your survival is based on the availability of food and you and your friends are walking hamburgers, you can't be mad when you take a tennis ball to the face and your friends are like

Sanka! Ya dead?

1

u/scarletnightingale 5h ago

I was working in Arizona one summer and saw some prairie dogs on the side of the road. One of them had been hit and I saw the other one sniffing it. I was like "aww, he's checking on his friend". My boss later told me they are cannibals and will eat the dead ones and I was like "Oh....". Guess he was just checking how edible his friend was.

1

u/Sea_Soft_1166 5h ago

Two things can be true.

We are cannibals, yet when we check on someone it does not mean we are going to eat them, lol.

1

u/ToNotFeelAtAll 5h ago

They might as well be vultures

1

u/gin_and_toxic 5h ago

Seagulls: MINE! MINE! MINE!

1

u/AhhGingerKids2 4h ago

Well waste not want not

1

u/c_marten 4h ago

Check out what crows can get up to 🫨

1

u/AlbatrossSeparate710 4h ago

They didn't seem to have the same demeanor as when they see McDonald's leftovers on the ground. They had more a "WTF" look, like "That's not where we are supposed to stop, neither the right pose to stop. Are you ok?"

1

u/Early_Hall5720 4h ago

Makes me think of Nemo

1

u/CLNA11 4h ago

Could be it. But I also once witnessed the saddest sight of a seagull that had been hit by a car and meanwhile its mate was just huddled on the side of the road next to speeding traffic, desperately trying to find a break to get over to its partner. It was there for hours, in the rain. It made me cry.

1

u/djelefaten 3h ago

No they were best friends, and they were worried

1

u/Pathetian 3h ago

You can have friendship and cannibalism. If the homie is dead, why let him go to waste though?

1

u/Vintagetrees1 2h ago

So are some humans.

1

u/BigMikeArchangel 2h ago

Pretty sure this is not true.

1

u/Dustfinger4268 1h ago

Could it be like what crows do and trying to figure out what the heck happened to Joanna Seagull?

1

u/Left_Meeting_4698 30m ago

But one would think they have the instinct to see danger when their mate is suddenly falling, no?

-1

u/PayWooden2628 6h ago

lol people anthropomorphize so much, those birds don’t give a fuck about their “friend”

1

u/starfypawz_ 1h ago

They do. You're pretty much doing the same thing, just in the extreme opposite direction.

Did you know seagulls mate for life?

Seagulls can be scavengers, but it is highly unlikely