Responses of black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) to observers holding popguns: Adult and juvenile gulls differ

Abstract

Hunting is a way for humans to prey on animal life to satisfy their own interests, and animals constantly regulate their behavior to accommodate that type of predatory pressure. Despite the long-term bans on gun hunting and increasing species protection measures worldwide, few studies have focused on whether hunting history affects animal behavior, making the impact of hunting history on wildlife in urgent need of quantitative research. China’s long-standing policy of gun and hunting bans provides a unique opportunity to explore this issue. This study compared the flight initiation distance (FID) of black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) overwintering in Kunming, Yunnan, southwestern China, with different ages (adult and juvenile gulls) by experimenters holding different types of handhelds. The results showed that adult and juvenile black-headed gulls were more fearful of the experimenter holding the “gun” as evidenced by longer FIDs; however, unlike adult gulls, juvenile gulls escaped later. This study showed that hunting activities can directly impact the behavior of birds, and hunting history can influence the antipredator behavior in birds.