Veronica Voll
THE LAST HABITAT
Hated by many, loved by a few. Gulls. Why should we care?
“When you lose a species, think of it like a fabric, and you’re taking and plucking one of the strings. Over time, the fabric gets looser and less stable. These are the types of changes we’re observing where entire ecosystems collapse. ” - Brett Scheffers .
Norway’s gull population has decreased by 76% since 1990, and four out of seven gull species that breed in Norway are red listed. We make life difficult for them by destroying their natural habitat, overfishing and causing global warming. Now gulls migrate to our cities to survive. The non-redlisted Lesser Black-backed and the red listed Black-Hooded Gull are two of the most common gulls in Oslo. They act as both predator and prey. They keep the rat and insect population under control. They also work as guardians for other birds that lay their eggs among large gull colonies, e.g. the Eurasian oystercatcher. So next time you meet a gull, show some compassion. They are just trying to survive like the rest of us.