AIBU to wonder if a seagull could really steal a chihuahua????

[CrocodilesCry]

So people are saying on social media that the chihuahua "plucked" from a garden down south wasn't actually taken by a seagull at all.

Searches have been called off. I've read people saying that the dog had actually been sold and this was a worst ever cover story

So what does everyone think really happened? Could a seagull take a 2kg dog?

PS, I did look for other posts about this and couldn't find any. Apols if this is a TAAT or anything's been deleted for any reason.

Some of them are absolutely enormous. It wouldn't surprise me.

There is a massive difference between a rabbit, which an adult gull may be able to pick off, and a dog, even one as small as a Chihuahua. The dog is not natural prey, he has greater strength than a rabbit, he will struggle and he has canine teeth.

I frankly don't believe a word of the story and would be looking for human involvement rather than attack by a gull.

The cynical side of me says that the dog has either escaped or has been sold.

I've seen a seagull eat a whole quarter pound burger in one go. He pinched it from the bbq in a dcaravan Park. The person only went in for tomato sauce and the seagull swooped down and stole it

Oh, I believe the owner of this dog is spinning a fast one to be sure. But the question in the OP was could an aggressive predatory bird take an animal that size. Theoretically, it's possible they could. These creatures are absolutely fearless if - and they occasionally do - they can attack an animal the size of a person.

Have to say I think the greater black back gull is an amazing bird.

I think we should consult an expert on seagull behaviour, Eric Cantona- 'when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines may be thrown in the sea'.

You need to come to Aberdeen. Our seagulls could give my large dog a run for its money. They are HUGE.

IIRC red kites only take carrion or small mammals. I saw one dive down for a dropped piece or barbecue meat at a summer fair once. I really doubt they would take a small dog.

A quick look on the fb pet selling pages showed that she had actually sold both dogs but made up bullshits stories to gain sympathy

That's shocking 😡

With size of the seagulls around here, I would even find it possible 😮 There are 2 wildlife things I am scared of in UK. Common adder and gulls. Not necessarily in that order.

But. It is most likely not truth imho and dog was killed or sold off.

You need to come to Aberdeen. Our seagulls could give my large dog a run for its money. They are HUGE.

And vicious! Smart and sneaky too, who could forget Sam the Cheesy Dorito nicking seagull gailatlarge.com/blog/2007/09/26/3412.

Also, everyone saying "chihuahuas are not natural pray so they would be harder to get than rabbits".
These dogs are specifically bred to be small and cute (they aren't imo) by choosing and breeding dogs with what would normally be considered bad genes.
I am not sure how much of their hunter instinct remains. If any...

You need to come to Aberdeen. Our seagulls could give my large dog a run for its money.

Just before I left to have dc1, I had to watch a video one of my colleagues had shot of a very large rat versus a seagull in Queen Street. The rat lost so a chihuahua sounds plausible to me.

We live in one of the Aberdeenshire fishing villages and the gulls are currently losing to the resident fox though...

Pretty sure a seagull could carry me off, let alone a small dog

I’ve seen a seagull ( herring gull so one of the big ones) fly off with a mcdonalds happy meal, in it's box! That weighs nothing like 2 kgs though.

TheFridgeRaider every chihuahua I've ever met has been feisty as fuck and would square up to much larger dogs without hesitation so I'm pretty sure they would give a gull a hard time.

A chihuahua is about half the size of a york ie, even smaller if a puppy and I think a seagull could take one.

The squirrels and seagulls round my area are big and probably double the size of a chi.

The gulls in Bath city centre are like freaking pterodactyls, terrifying, enormous and able to destroy anything. Enormous shits too, like someone dropped an entire tin of white paint.

Seagulls in all their different varieties have webbed feet. Not usefull for grabbing prey. The dog would have run away whilst on the ground and wriggled and struggled whilst in the air I dont buy it at all.

A seagull or landgull could absolutely take a small chihuahua!

I am not sure how much of their hunter instinct remains. If any...

Have you ever met a chihuahua they are mostly very vicious little things which suffer from a Napoleon complex I have no doubt that if a seagull tried to take one on then it wouldn't stand a chance.

IIRC red kites only take carrion or small mammals

Thanks, that's reassuring, and possibly even good news if they went as far as clearing up all the rodent and bird carcasses that my big cats leave strewn across my lawn.

I hope it's not true, but why make up such a story,
I saw a magpie pick a small pigeon up and carry it off in my garden a few months ago, but it didn't carry it far and dropped it
Also saw a group of magpies again in my garden, one was standing on another pigeon and about 4 more standing around watching that one peck at it,i ran out to try to get the pigeon, but it carried it off, and that was only a magpie, they are not big birds
Saw a video after this story came out about the dog, which showed a seagull, attack a squirrel and eat it whole,the poor squirrel was still alive and struggling as it was swallowed

The boyfriend [or husband] said the gull picked the dog up by the neck with it's beak

I just can't get my head round a dog being a third of the size of my cat!

I must have met special chihuahuas 😂
Yappy little sh... Making all the right attack noises while trembling behind owners feet or from behind the chair. Never actually saw any to act on that noise. The only breed which never liked me!
But if I am mistaken than I gladly apologise for saying them lack the instinct.