Blackpool Zoo is recruiting people to dress up as 'seagull deterrents'

If you enjoy dressing up and chasing off birds then this new job at the Blackpool Zoo is for you. The zoo requires human "seagull deterrents" to frighten off the nuisance birds. The popular tourist spot in Lancashire advertised the job openings after bosses said the birds had been continuously stealing food from visitors as well as animal enclosures. The selected candidates will join the "visitor services" team as "seagull deterrents," the advert said.

Those taking on the job would have to be "outgoing" and "comfortable wearing a bird costume," the ad adds. It further says, "At Blackpool Zoo, it goes without saying that we love all animals. And as a seaside resort, Blackpool is not short of seagulls. However, the 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. We need to do what we can to keep the seagulls away from our main visitor dining areas. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, email your cover letter to us."

When the Facebook page, Proper Manchester, informed its followers about this job opening, many interesting comments followed. One Amanda AJ SimmondsOmg quipped, "Where do I apply!!!!! Years of watching Dino Dana has prepared me for this moment SQUAAAAAAWK!!!!!!" Melanie Bloom wrote, "I don't need to dress up, been referred to a bird all my life, now I'm old grumpy n scary, I proper fit the bill." Leanne BurbidgeSaw commented, "A few Brighton fans dressed up at Wembley yesterday, they’ll be free on June 3rd now."

Blackpool Zoo recently also announced that its new £1.5 million big cat facility is about to be completed and African lion Khari, who has been temporarily looked after at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, will be back to them in May. A new £100k penguin habitat, named Penguin Cove, also opened and now it features an "improved and extended beach area alongside nest boxes and pools."

In another zoo in Houston, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise, Mr. Pickles, also the oldest animal at the Houston Zoo, has become a father for the first time. Mr. Pickles and his 53-year-old partner, Mrs. Pickles, became parents to three hatchlings that could live for up to 150 years if taken good care of. "The new hatchlings came as a surprise when a herpetology keeper happened upon Mrs. Pickles as the tortoise was laying her eggs at closing time," the Houston Zoo blog reported. "The animal care team quickly went to work uncovering the eggs and getting them to the safety of the Reptile & Amphibian House. The soil in Houston isn’t hospitable to the Madagascar native tortoises, and it’s unlikely the eggs would have hatched on their own if the keeper hadn’t been in the right place at the right time.”

In a post, the Houston Zoo wrote happily on Instagram, "We love pickles! Meet our variety pack of radiated tortoise hatchlings: Gherkin, Dill, and Jalapeño. Thanks to First Place Foods for sending our tortoise animal care team a pickle variety pack of their own. We relish the moment Mr. Pickles became a first-time dad at 90 years old. The whole pickle family is doing well, and the hatchlings will remain behind the scenes until they are old enough to join their parents."