Chaotic video catches wily seagull stealing a toy fish from Ohio store near Lake Erie

A clueless seagull has become a hit on social media, after it was caught trying to steal a toy fish from a nautical gift shop on Lake Erie’s Ohio shore.

The shoplifting incident occurred last week at the Northern Exposure Candle Company in Port Clinton, Ohio, and video shows humans were led on a chase up and down the aisles by the wily bird.

“No, no, you’re not taking it. Drop it, drop it!” a staffer is heard yelling. “Give me that back.”

The bird eventually makes it out the front door and takes off down the sidewalk, with the toy firmly in its beak.

“OMG!! This baby seagull can’t fly so he’s terrorizing our shops by sneaking in,” store co-owner Kelly Rigoni wrote on Facebook.

“This is the third time he got in the door and grabbed a fake walleye from our toy section.”

The video was also shared on Facebook by the company, which noted: “Never a boring day for our customers.”

Store staff said the toy was recovered. However, the thieving bird continues to return, the company said.

Hundreds have reacted to the video on Facebook, including people from the neighborhood who said the gull has tried getting into their home.

“How do you report this to the police department let alone your insurance company?” David DeVore wrote on Facebook.

“Got to love to seagulls! They aren’t only (pooping) on your car now, they are stealing from our stores,” Stephanie Smithers posted.

“Someone is going to have a heck of a belly ache!” Lynne Goetz said.

Co-owner Kelly Rigoni says her staff was trying to get the fish back because they feared the bird might “get hurt or die from eating a plush toy.”

“Nothing like a walleye stuff animal to fool a real seagull,” she wrote on Facebook.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 7:37 AM with the headline "Chaotic video catches wily seagull stealing a toy fish from Ohio store near Lake Erie."