Vulnerable Atlantic Puffin

Although here photographed at the shore of Iceland, the fascinating Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica (Linnaeus, 1758)) spends most of his life on the open ocean. There he appears as a brilliant swimmer. 'Flying' under water with his wings, he is assumed to be able of diving up to 60 m and beyond. Besides that, and its beautiful colorrichness, the bird belonging to the auks (Alcidae) is listed as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN since 2015. Affected by rising sea temperatures and consequent shifts in prey distribution and abundance, the global population is already decreasing since the 2000s. Furthermore, F. arctica is still a delicacy in Iceland, and correspondigly in demand by tourists...