Large, hungry and aggressive seagulls have been attacking kiosk customers at Oslo’s fashionable Aker Brygge waterfront complex lately, grabbing takeaway snacks right out of their hands. One kiosk owner has reported up to five seagull attacks a day.
“They fly down on folks and steal their sausages (hot dogs),” Arnfinn Fagermo, who runs a kiosk at Aker Brygge, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) this week.
Fagermo said both young and elderly customers are frightened by the large, ruthless birds that shriek and fly right over an open plaza ringed by shops and restaurants on the western side of Oslo’s inner harbour. He’s started posting signs in his shop, warning customers that if they take their sausages with them outside, they risk attracting a seagull attack.
“I’ve heard about folks getting bitten in the neck by the gulls, and one man almost fell down when he was attacked,” Fagermo told NRK. “I thought I’d need to call an ambulance.”
He said a large family of gulls seems to have settled down around Aker Brygge, and they swoop down on anyone with food in their hands. They’ve started attacking from behind, flying into people’s backs and then snatching hand-held food when their startled victims turn to see what hit them.
To see a video of an NRK reporter being attacked, click here (external link, in Norwegian).
newsinenglish.no staff