Why Icelanders Throw Baby Puffins Off Cliffs
at stake: something important that could be lost, won, or affected based on the outcome of a situation
Throwing baby birds off a cliff In Iceland’s Westman Islands isn’t animal abuse. It’s become a yearly tradition to rescue baby puffins, called pufflings. These birds fly from high cliffs to the ocean, but sometimes city lights confuse them, and they crash into the town. This form of light pollution interferes with their ability to be guided by the light of the moon.
During puffling season, people walk around the streets with flashlights and boxes, looking for pufflings. When they find a bird, they pick it up and release it safely near the cliffs the next day. This tradition is important because puffins only have one chick each year, so the survival of the species is at stake.
The puffin rescues are common in August and September. People compare it to Halloween because everyone is out in the streets at night. For many families, it’s a normal part of life, and even children help in puffling patrols. It’s a touching example of how a community comes together to protect these vulnerable birds.
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Why it’s perfectly normal to see baby puffins thrown off cliffs in Iceland each year