A video of a woman's breakfast at a seaside restaurant being interrupted by an unexpected guest has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by @recipeswlex and has garnered 2.4 million views since it was shared on July 7. The footage was captured at Uncle Bill's Pancake House in Cape May, a city and seaside resort in New Jersey, according to a later comment by the poster.
The video begins with a message overlaid on it that says: "Taking a picture of my breakfast, thinking I'm about to enjoy a peaceful meal by the ocean."
The footage shows a view of two plates of food—one holding strips of bacon and eggs and the other with pancakes—set on an outdoor table along a street.
Suddenly, a seagull flies into the video frame, with its feet landing on the eggs and its beak reaching for the bacon strips before the clip ends.
Around four species of seagulls are found along the Jersey Shore, and one of the most common gulls in the state is the laughing gull, says the nonprofit Save Coastal Wildlife. Such a gull appears to be the one featured in the TikTok clip.
"Swirling over beaches with strident calls and a distinctive, crisp black head, laughing gulls provide sights and sounds evocative of summer on the east coast. You'll run across this handsome gull in large numbers at beaches, docks, and parking lots, where they wait for handouts or fill the air with their raucous calls," says the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website.
A stock image shows a seagull flying over a plate of food on a table outdoors. A video of a seagull snatching food from a woman trying to enjoy a "peaceful meal" has gone viral...A stock image shows a seagull flying over a plate of food on a table outdoors. A video of a seagull snatching food from a woman trying to enjoy a "peaceful meal" has gone viral on TikTok. iStock / Getty Images PlusLaughing gulls, which are known for their "loud, descending series of laughing notes lasting three seconds or more," can be seen in the Northeast in the summer and year-round on the coasts of the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico, according to the website.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), a U.K. animal charity, warns that "gulls are opportunists and will take advantage of whatever food they can find in their environment."
"Snatching food is a behavior that gulls have learnt, and it's reinforced every time they're fed by the public," RSPCA says.
'I Was Truly in Shock'
TikTok users were amused by the seagull's antics in the video.
Uncle Bill's Pancake House CM wrote, "The seagulls are ruthless!!" and the original poster replied, "They really are."
Rachel Shubin said, "Those Cape May seagulls mean business!" The original poster responded, "They really do."
User @evaablazee said, "The way I would have cried..." and the original poster replied, "I was truly in shock lmao."
Julie said, "The foot [of the seagull landing on the eggs] has me screaming," and beachfried agreed, writing, "The foot is the funniest part." The original poster said, "No, truly it's unreal."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. The video has not been independently verified.
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