Noisy, mischievous and with a bad reputation for covering docks all around the world with guano or bird-poop, seagulls can make or break your seaside vacation. The species exhibits a lot of strange behavior, from amusingly squabbling among themselves to dive-bombing and stealing unsuspecting touristsâ food.

With plastic and waste levels around the worldâs coasts skyrocketing in recent decades, itâs not uncommon to see seagulls fighting over random refuse they find interesting - although one particular pair seem to have a dirtier mind than we expected birds to be capable of having.

When planning her visit to the Childrenâs Pool in La Jolla, California, last Tuesday, conservation wildlife photographer Jennifer Leigh had hoped to snap some adorable newborn seal pups - specifically Californiaâs local harbour seals. While on the hunt for the perfect shot though, Leigh found a little more than she bargained for, when she spotted two juvenile seagulls quarrelling over the funniest rubbish find of the year - a rather realistically molded, light-coloured and fairly large dildo.

© Instagram/Jennifer Leigh

The pair tossed the *** toy around while chasing each other - finally, one of the gulls managed to snatch it away, soaring into the California sky with the dildo in its beak. 

© Instagram/Jennifer Leigh

Truly majestic.

Speaking to Gizmodo, Leigh said, âBefore realising what the object was, I was annoyed and mad, because plastic pollution is a real serious problem, and as a conservation photographer Iâm documenting human impacts on wildlife.â

© Instagram/Jennifer Leigh

âBut when I realised what it was, while the other emotions still existed, you canât help but find humour in it,â Leigh added.

Leigh has worked with wildlife organisations such as the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Shootâem with a Camera - taking some truly stunning photographs of animals from all around the globe. The work aims at spreading awareness on the state of important natural ecosystems and humanityâs role as its guardians. 

© Instagram/CCF/Jennifer Leigh

While the gull-dildo story was definitely worth a few laughs, itâs nice to note that the photo also stirred up a great deal of awareness for plastic pollution on Earthâs oceans.

According to Greenpeace, up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans each year. Itâs estimated that there are five trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans, enough to encircle the Earth more than 400 times. Not only does this severely degrade the quality of marine habitats, it also directly kills thousands of animals every year. 

© Reuters

As many as nine out of ten seabirds, one out of three turtles and over half of all whale species have ingested plastic, gradually suffocating or poisoning them from the inside out.

© Reuters

What Iâm curious about is how the dildo ended up in the Pacific Ocean, though. Well, maybe the next time someone decides to have a little fun on the beach, theyâll remember to take their toys back home.

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