Mimic Of The Week

Congratulations to Cooper Wallace from Chesterfield who has won his second consecutive title at the European Gull Screeching Championship held at De Panne in Belgium recently. The ten-year-old “Seagull Boy”, dressed in a seagull costume, impressed the judges with his ear-piercing ability to replicate the calls of the seabird.

Cooper discovered his talent after he had been bitten by a seagull. His seven-year-old sister, Shelby, is following in his wing, grabbing fourth place. Must be a noisy household, the Wallace’s.

Seventy contestants from 13 countries competed in this year’s event and were judged on a number of criteria including the calls, the competitor’s seagull garb and their ability to emulate sea bird behaviour.

A Danish woman Anna Brynald, who donned white-and-yellow face paint for the event, came in first in the adult category, and an Italian group known as Gabbiani Partigiani, or Partisan Seagulls, came in first in the colony category.