Ohio official used town funds to buy a wildebeest for his roadside zoo
A former public official in Ohio was convicted of using public funds to purchase wild animals and other items for his roadside zoo and Airbnb rental.
LEARN MOREApril 26, 2023
Are you friendly, energetic, flexible and outgoing enough to wear a bird costume? If so, a zoo in England might want to hire you.
The Blackpool Zoo in Lancashire is looking for someone who can dress as a bird to deter seagulls. The zoo said, “Seagulls are proving to be a bit of a nuisance when it comes to trying to steal food from our visitors and our animal enclosures.”
The zoo told North West News it has received 150 applications for the five open positions.
The outlet shared a video of a flock of seagulls swarming a batch of French fries on a picnic table. A zoo worker wearing a costume then ran in and scared off the seagulls.
“You have to be very outgoing and have to be confident in costume walking around here speaking to customers and sometimes pose for photos as well,” Jess Monks, chief seagull scarer, told North West News. “You have to be a good flapper.”
According to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the United Kingdom has a population of 139,200 apparently occupied nests of herring gulls. The U.K. has about 12.1% of the world’s population of the birds.
The British Naturalists’ Association calls them “large, noisy birds,” so it is no wonder why the zoo might try to deter them.
