This is a perfect story for a Friday. The BBC News reports that a rather cunning seagull with a talent for shoplifting has taken to snatching packets of cheese Doritos from a newsagent in Aberdeen, Scotland. The seagull, affectionately named Sam, stalks the store waiting for a quiet moment when the doors are open and the crisps are unattended. He then saunters in, grabs a bag and bolts for the door. Once outside he rips open the bag and shares the bounty with other birds—another perfect, premeditated theft under his belt.

Locals have been covering the accruing costs for the stolen crisps, paying for each bag that gets nabbed by the seagull, thus keeping the bird on the good side of the law.

This is perhaps one of the most entertaining examples I've come across of how animals adapt to human-dominated landscapes. So much of the wildlife that inhabits our towns and cities goes unnoticed and under-appreciated until they start pulling Doritos off the shelves of the local newsagent.

Find out more:

• Seagull Becomes Crisp Shoplifter (BBC News)
• Sam the Shoplifting Seagull (ITN)