Much has been made of the fact that Gulpin can devour anything, but this fact is neither as useful nor as dangerous as it seems. Because the toxins they excrete are far more dangerous than all but the most hazardous of materials, Minun are far preferred for waste disposal, and Gulpin's slow eating pace, small size, and lack of camouflage ensure that although they have the physical ability to eat all sorts of buildings, people, and pokemon, they rarely if ever get the chance.
Of far more interest to scientists is the corollary to this fact: that they can digest any substance. It is this ability which has let Gulpin thrive in a multitude of environments from the arctic to the bottom of the sea. They have been around for at least five hundred million years, have survived Armaldo, Cradily, and countless mass extinctions; indeed, they dominate the earth for an eon after the catastrophe until new predators learn to eat them and their numbers dwindle back to an equilibrium.
With famine an all too common theme of recorded history and dreams of colonizing other planets beyond the stars, science tries time and time again to transfer a Gulpin's digestive system to Man, but with no success. Yet perhaps this is for the best. Although the species has done well, a wild Gulpin's life is rarely long. Part of this, to be sure, is that poison is their only defense against predators, and there are predators like Skarmory and Seviper who are immune. But far more dangerous is the fact that a Gulpin's stomach is too effective for their own good. Gulpin are a prized meal among any pokemon (and many humans) who can slay them, for they provide immense energy and nutrition but require no preparation.