Here the seagull is fighting for its life – researchers disagree about what is happening – news Troms and Finnmark

– It’s hard to see what’s happening on the video, but it looks like it has something in its beak? Andreas Meyer Winnem works for Birdlife.no and suspects that the seagull has got hold of something it is trying to eat, but is struggling to get it with it. That may be the reason why it does not rise from the water. Another reason could be bird flu. – It doesn’t look normal. It can look like symptoms of bird flu. Then they are often unable to fly because they become too weak, says Tone Kristin Reiertsen, researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research. Photo: Elena Berg Hansen / news Cases of bird flu have been registered throughout the country this summer, including in Troms and Finnmark. Strong theory Audun Rikardsen is a professor of Arctic and marine biology at UiT Norway’s Arctic University, and he has no doubts about what he sees in the video. – I have not observed this very often, but it is probably a mink. It is common for it to do this, he says. Rikardsen believes the seagull has been bitten by a mink and is therefore being held down in the water. According to him, the seagull probably had no chance against the mink. – They often kill more than they need to. Mink is a blacklisted species and is unwanted in Norwegian nature. It causes great damage, especially in bird colonies and is a major threat to these. Audun Rikardsen is certain that it was a mink that caused trouble for the young seagull. Photo: ODD ARNE OLDERBAKK / news The seagulls have received a lot of negative attention during the summer season. This is because of the number of seagulls, lots of noise and rude behaviour. – Many seagull species move into the cities to look for protection, from, for example, mink. It is often safer for them in the cities, and then it feels like there are more of them than there actually are, explains Rikardsen. – Although we know that this unfortunately happens often, it is not common that you get to see and film it like in this video.



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