A UK zoo will pay people to dress as birds and chase away seagulls
May 1 is the last day to apply for the job of a lifetime: flaunting a blow-up eagle costume to scare away seagulls in the U.K.’s Blackpool Zoo.
This is not a joke. Actually, the zoo is quite serious — and so are the hundreds of global applicants who have requested the position, some coming in from Uganda, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The zoo told Insider it has made plans to hire lucky participants within the next few weeks.
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The seagull problem
Insider said the seagulls steal food from people, penguins, pelicans and sea lions.
“They’re aggressive,” Khaled Fawzy, Blackpool Zoo’s head of birds, told The Wall Street Journal. “They have a real sharp beak.”
Since it’s easier to steal food from others rather than hunting for food in the sea, Fawzy told the Journal the birds will steal food from people in the outdoor cafe, during outdoor shows or while people are walking around.
Fawzy said they even learned how to work the sensors and wandered into the cafe, so automatic doors had to be removed.
“They love ice cream,” Fawzy added in the article. “They’ll take the whole cone and swallow it in just one go.”
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Efforts to get rid of seagulls
To get rid of seagulls, Insider said the zoo previously tried flying eagle-shaped kites, placing large statues of different birds of prey and training the birds of prey within the zoo to patrol the skies and discourage seagulls from entering.
The zoo also tried playing “cries of a distressed seagull” on the zoo speakers, to no avail, the Journal reported.
The seagulls would stay at bay for a week before figuring out they were being scammed. “They’re quite smart,” Fawzy told the Journal.
The zoo told Insider, “The costume is something the seagulls won’t have seen before, and as intelligent birds, they will naturally not like it,” and, “The costume also makes a sound when the person is moving, which is something else the seagulls don’t like.”
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Who can be a seagull deterrent?
“They must be outgoing as, if this week is anything to go by, they will be approached for pictures by a lot of people. Lively, energetic, fun and, most importantly, an excellent flapper, will be top of the essentials list during interviews,” the zoo told Insider.
Other requirements to become a seagull deterrent are listed on the zoo’s website and include being flexible and focused on the visitors.
All who are interested must email a cover letter and resume to the zoo at recruitment@blackpoolzoo.org.uk by May 1.
A zoo spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal, “The job pays £8 an hour, or about $10 an hour for those between 16 and 20 years old.”
