# Kelp Gull

*Larus dominicanus*

In Argentina, these gulls are known to peck at the skin and blubber of living Southern Right Whales when they surface to breathe.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Laridae › Larus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** aquatic
- **Habitat:** Coastal shores, estuaries, islands, and increasingly urban landfills.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous: fish, marine invertebrates, eggs, smaller birds, and human refuse.
- **Range:** South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica
- **Size:** Length: 54-65 cm; Wingspan: 128-142 cm
- **Lifespan:** 12-20 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Entanglement in fishing gear, plastic ingestion, and oil spills.
- **Safe to approach?:** Generally harmless but bold and opportunistic. Do not feed, as they can become aggressive toward food. Maintain a 5-meter distance. If they begin dive-bombing, you are near a nest; protect your head and calmly leave the area.

## About

The kelp gull ( Larus dominicanus ), also known as the Dominican gull , is a gull which breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate L. d. dominicanus is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the Pacific gull), and New Zealand (where it is known as the southern black-backed gull, simply the black-backed gull, or by its Māori name karoro ). L. d. vetula (known as...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/892a23fc-7df9-4c28-bdae-937ec1a4881a
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4388
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larus dominicanus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/32613942/medium.jpeg (Jacqui Geux, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.