Natural Resource officer shell-shocked by flying vandal

Wareham Natural Resources is employing the public’s help in locating an unlikely vandal that stands 16 inches tall, has white and grey feathers and can be found pooping on local beachgoers. 

While finishing up his shift Monday, Nov. 17, Wareham Natural Resource and Shellfish Officer Tom Glennon was driving to a boat class in New Bedford with his brother when he noticed the back window of his Audi looked strange. 

"We pulled over into Kool Kone parking lot because I said 'why is my back windshield all wet and none of the other cars are wet?' And we get out and I realize the windshield is cracked," Glennon said. 

On the floor of his car sat the cause of the destruction: a single quahog. 

"The glass was smashed inwards," he said. "That's when we saw the quahog and at that point we knew it was a seagull." 

The infamous beach birds drop quahogs onto hard surfaces to crack their shells  and eat them. Glennon said he looked back on the cameras at his home and could hear the moment of impact at around 4:30 p.m. 

Working as a Shellfish Officer, Glennon protects the town's shellfish resources, including monitoring for contamination, enforcing regulations and issuing permits. Though he helps the seagulls sometimes, he said he believes the attack was targeted. 

"When they're injured we take them to the vet, but I don't know, maybe somebody's mad," he said.

Living right on the water for the past 10 years, Glennon said this instance is spe-shell and that nothing like this has happened to him before. 

"I've never even found a quahog in our yard," he said. 

Currently the cost of the damage from the angry gull is yet to be determined and Glennon continues to ride around with a smashed window. The insurance agent assigned to his case had even heard of the incident before contacting Glennon.

"I was looking up the price of a rear windshield and it was close to $1,000," he said. "My poor car, I'm going to have to do extra seagull patrol now."

The quahog that caused the damage was still alive, was within legal harvesting size and did not sustain any injuries. However, according to Glennon it was harvested without a shellfish permit so it was returned to deeper water.

As Glennon looks toward fixing his car he said the seagull, wanted for vandalism and shellfishing without a permit, remains on the run. 

Animal criminals are not a rare breed in Wareham and procedures are in place when the vandal is apprehended. The Natural Resource Department plans on arresting the bird just like Wareham Animal Control did to a tabby cat named Mittens who broke into a home back in September. 

"We're going to post his mugshot on our Facebook page," he said. 'We're trying to figure out his common activities and we're going to confront him if we get the chance. Use french fries or quahogs to lure him."

For now, Glennon is taking it day by day and continuing on with his duties and finding the humor in the situation. 

"It's funny considering my job— getting vandalized by seagulls and quahogs," he said. "Must be karma or something."