NZ Man Explains How He Caught A Seagull With His Hand
Channel: The OverSeaNews
Date: 2021-03-11

https://youtu.be/iRKL7tBEQKQ

NZ Man Explains How He Caught A Seagull With His Hand
A man with lightning fast reflexes has gone viral on TikTok after catching a seagull mid-air that was hungry for his McDonald's chips.
Taylor Mechen was coming home from a night out in Dunedin, when he decided to stop for an early morning snack.
Sitting on a bench, he quickly found himself surrounded by seagulls who were 'dive bombing' him as they tried to take a bite out of his meal. 
Mr Mechen who was filming the swarm of birds, then managed to catch one in his right hand before quickly releasing it back into the sky. He shared the video to TikTok where it amassed more than 22 million views and thousands of comments.
Most were impressed by the man's quick hands but others were left outraged by the video and claimed Mr Mechen had put the bird at risk.
Operations manager Annie Wallace for the Department of Conservation told the Otago Daily Times that the seagull in the video belonged to the red-billed gull species and is protected under the Wildlife Act.
'Tarapunga are protected under the Wildlife Act, meaning it is illegal to disturb, harass or kill them. Those who do so can face fines or imprisonment,' she said.
'It is stressful for the animal whenever someone catches and holds our native birds like this.'
In a follow up video, Mr Mechen said he didn't mean to catch the bird as he has a fear of them.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the Kiwi apologised for the behaviour and said he didn't realise the seagull was a protected species.
He said the bird was only in his hand for a few seconds and that he had no intention to do it again or harm the gull.
'I wasn't encouraging them closer obviously, as I'm scared of them,' he said.
'I wasn't feeding them, I didn't hurt it, and I didn't even mean to have an encounter with them.'