Western Gulls and Humans
The Western Gull is currently not considered threatened. However, they have, for a gull, a restricted range. Numbers were greatly reduced in the 19th century by the taking of seabird eggs for the growing city of San Francisco. Western Gull colonies also suffered from disturbance where they were turned into lighthouse stations, or, in the case of Alcatraz, a prison.
Western Gulls are very aggressive when defending their territories and consequently were persecuted by some as a menace. The automating of the lighthouses, and the closing of Alcatraz Prison, allowed the species to reclaim parts of its range. They are currently vulnerable to climatic events like El Niño events and oil spills.
Read more about this topic: Western Gull
Famous quotes containing the words western, gulls and/or humans:
“So motionless, she seemed stone dead—just seemed:
She was too old for death, too old for life,
For as if jealous of all living forms
She had lain there before bivalves began
To catacomb their shells on western mountains.”
—Edwin John Pratt (1882–1964)
“I dreamed of an out-thrust arm of land
Where gulls blew over a wave
That fell along miles of sand....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“The land is the host and humans merely guests.”
—Chinese proverb.