Roger the Seagull

Mark Khoury, a local shop owner in Salcombe, first met Roger after the young bird fell from his nest outside the shops on Clifton Place. Mark and his then-partner picked him up, put him safely in a box in a shed behind the shops, and looked after him. Roger recovered, and decided not to go very far.

Once Roger learned to fly, he managed to get himself caught in gull-deterrent wires and hooks high above the shops. Mark got out a ladder and brought him down. The accident left Roger with small holes in his feet, which later became one of the ways Mark could identify him among Salcombe’s many gulls.

Roger settled into life around Clifton Place and developed a routine of his own. He flies back and forth around the shops, chasing other gulls away from the area and discouraging them from stealing food or bothering customers. For this service, Roger receives four prawns a day. It is unclear whether he has negotiated for a raise.

Roger’s life around Salcombe begins appearing online through his own social account, giving people outside town a look at his daily patrols. Visitors begin arriving in Clifton Place asking where they can find him. Fortunately, Mark has a fairly reliable method: he whistles. And Roger comes down.

Roger goes international. CNN introduces Roger to a much larger audience as the rescued gull with a job, describing him as an unofficial security guard who protects local businesses from food-stealing gulls in exchange for prawns. His story quickly travels beyond Salcombe.

Salcombe’s newest celebrity. By early September, local media report that Roger’s story has reached television audiences outside Britain, with appearances and coverage in other parts of Europe. Meanwhile, tourists in Salcombe are starting to ask for Roger by name. For Roger, the routine remains largely unchanged. There are still gulls to chase. And four prawns waiting at the end of the shift.