#52 Atlantic Puffin
With their huge multicolored bills, bright orange feet and teary-eyed visage, Atlantic Puffins have been called clowns of the sea. These members of the auk family spend most of their lives on the open ocean and breed on islands in the North Atlantic. Their population plummeted in the 19th century due to hunting, prompting conservation efforts. A re-introduction program started by National Audubon in the1970s has returned them to former nesting islands off Maine. Still, puffins face grave risks today; in their southernmost colonies, they’re experiencing breeding failures as ocean temperatures rise and fish populations shift.
