Seagulls did come and eat many of the crickets in 1848. For this reason, the Seagull Monument was erected and the California gull is the state bird of Utah. The traditional story is that the seagulls annihilated the insects, ensuring the survival of some 4,000 Mormon pioneers who had traveled to Utah. The pioneers saw the gulls' arrival as a miracle, and the story was recounted from the pulpit by church leaders such as Orson Pratt and George A. It is said that these birds, native to the Great Salt Lake, ate mass quantities of crickets, drank some water, regurgitated, and continued eating more crickets over a two-week period. Latter-day Saints often cast this disaster in Biblical terms like the 8th plague of locusts.Īccording to traditional accounts, legions of gulls appeared by June 9, 1848, following fervent prayers by the pioneer farmers. This is a reproductive strategy similar to mast reproduction in oaks, overwhelming predators with sheer numbers allowing a percentage of the population to survive to reproduce. These insects threatened the livelihood of the Mormon pioneers stomping on the pests did not dissuade them from entering farms as others would advance. They are known to cyclically swarm in some areas of the Mountain West, especially in Utah, Nevada, and southern Idaho. Mormon crickets eat all plant material in their path, but they also eat any insects that die on the way, including their own species. Having ornamental wings, they are unable to fly, but instead can travel in huge swarms. These insects, now called " Mormon crickets" because of this incident, are not true crickets, but instead belong to the katydid family. However, large swarms of insects appeared in the valley beginning in late May. Although late frosts in April and May destroyed some of the crops, the pioneers seemed to be well on their way to self-sufficiency. California gull ( Larus californicus)Īfter Brigham Young led the first band of Latter-day Saints into what is now Salt Lake City, Utah, the pioneers had the good fortune of a relatively mild winter. A stone grasshopper, commemorated at Gilgal Sculpture Garden. Traditional story The Seagull Monument located in front of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall on Temple Square. Less than two years earlier, in October 1846, many of them were saved by quail that flew into their camp, on their trek to the Great Salt Lake and made available as food. Next spring, using seed from the first harvest, they planted their second crop, only to watch in dismay as the crickets attacked. The first crop was planted in 1847 a few days after the pioneers entered the valley, which was very late in the growing season and produced a meager but usable harvest.
While absent in contemporary accounts, later accounts stated seagulls miraculously saved the 1848 crops by eating thousands of insects that were devouring their fields.
The miracle of the gulls is an 1848 event often credited by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for saving the second harvest of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. ( August 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill ( documentation) and Citation bot ( documentation).
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