Posted on 01/14/2009 1:57:24 PM PST by GSWarrior
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — A rare gull that apparently tried to eat a couple's ice cream was euthanized after the man beat the bird with a stick. Dragan Djuric, 50, of Wichita, Kansas, and his wife were eating ice cream New Year's Eve on the boardwalk at Main Beach when a flock of birds attacked them, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jeff Calvert said.
One bird hit Djuric's wife in the head and tried to take the ice cream. Djuric was defecated on.
The couple dropped the frozen food and Djuric began hitting the birds with a stick, Calvert said.
One of the birds — a rare Heermann's gull — sustained a broken wing and was later euthanized.
Djuric was cited and released on suspicion of animal cruelty.
Heermann's gulls are on the Audubon Society's watch list for at-risk birds. The creatures are surprisingly aggressive and steal fish from the pouches of pelicans and chase other birds to take their prey, according to the society's Web site.
The estimated population of Heermann's gulls is 525,000.
524,999
We have a winner!
I hate birds with attitude.
Laguna Beach being Laguna Beach, it's a wonder that the man wasn't euthanized instead...
Along the California coast, it's uncommon to common.
But who am I to argue with Audubon?
I think that swearing thing works. I had gulls looking at my lunch, and told them to F off. They had this air of assumed nonchalance: “Just looking at this crab claw here, and this bit of seaweed over there, and oh, there’s a wave, bye.”
Who would have thought their sensibilities were so delicate?
Apparently he preferred to throw a temper tantrum - showing his manhood and maturity, I guess. There’s never an excuse for abusing an animal!!
My buddy threw a piece of bread out the window while we were having lunch on Lake Ontario.
Thank God we were in the car...There were 100's of them in 10 seconds!!
He's an employee. Never took him to the lake for lunch again!!
"Rare" is relative, of course.
Trust me: if a Heermann's gull showed up at Lake Ontario, you'd have 100,000+ birders stampede to Lake Ontario within 12 hours to see it.
Birders are weird that way.
(Yeah, I'm a birder...)
“One bird hit Djuric’s wife in the head and tried to take the ice cream. Djuric was defecated on.”
Don’t care what they do to my wife, but defecate on my head......he’s history.
“The bird was doing what nature taught it to do.”
What, eat ice cream?
Nature tells humans attacked by animals to fight back. We're at the top of the food chain, remember? I like it up here.
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