Two Atlantic Puffins on Maine's Eastern Egg Rock. (Photos by Evan Barnard/University of Georgia)
Atlantic Puffins on the rebound thanks to breeding efforts
The Puffin
Behold the immaculate puffin,
A vulnerable auk that’s now thrivin’.
After decimation
Then new innovation,
Colonies are back up and runnin’.
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The beloved Atlantic Puffin is a symbol of conservation success. By the end of the 19th century, Atlantic Puffins disappeared from islands along the coast of Maine as victims of feather hunters. Almost a century later, a biologist named Stephen Kress decided to reintroduce puffins to those islands using innovative techniques, restarting colonies of puffins and eventually other seabirds on Eastern Egg Rock and other area islands, leading to the formulation of a novel species reintroduction method now used around the world.
See the full story below.