When April Hollingsworth and Bryan Krieger embarked on their dream trip to Iceland, there was one thing they were the most excited for: seeing the local wildlife.
The couple run Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary in Tennessee, so naturally they decided to
visit Beluga Whale Sanctuary and Puffin Rescue on Heimaey Island as part of their trip. While they were there, they learned about an Icelandic tradition that involved rescuing baby animals, and they were immediately intrigued.
During puffling season, baby puffins sometimes become confused by all the lights in town and wander too far inland. Locals will go out at night looking for them, bring them to the rescue in the morning to get checked over and then release them back to sea.
“Obviously the second we heard, ‘People go out at night and rescue baby puffins,’ we were in,” Hollingsworth told The Dodo.
Excited and determined, the couple headed out into the streets in the middle of the night and were surprised to discover that they were the only ones out there.
“We walked around at midnight and there was not a person or puffin in sight,” Hollingsworth said. “At one point we started wondering if we had completely misunderstood this entire Icelandic tradition. We later learned that the locals go out later at night or early in the morning to look for the pufflings.”
The couple was wandering the streets, laughing at themselves and preparing to head back inside — and then, out of nowhere, a baby puffin appeared.
“It immediately went from this ridiculous adventure we were laughing about to, ‘OH MY GOD. THERE IS ACTUALLY A BABY PUFFIN,’” Hollingsworth said. “For two people who care for around 100 rescue animals at home, we were hilariously unprepared for one extremely small Icelandic bird.”
The baby was clearly confused and in need of help, and almost immediately, the couple’s rescue instincts kicked in. They’d brought gloves to safely handle the baby, but unfortunately they’d forgotten to bring a box to put him in. Nevertheless, they got him off the streets and safely into their care until they could bring him to the rescue in the morning. They did a little more research about how to care for him properly until then, wanting to follow the local process to the letter.
They decided to name the puffin Örn after a man they’d met earlier that day who was working at the rescue’s gift shop. Once morning arrived, they brought Örn back to the rescue, where he was weighed to make sure he was big enough to be released. Then they drove out to the cliffs, said goodbye to their new little friend and set him free.
“I tossed him out toward the ocean, watched him spread his wings and fly away,” Hollingsworth said. “Then I immediately started sobbing. We had only known this tiny bird for a few hours, but we'd spent the night responsible for keeping him safe, worrying about him and hoping we'd done everything right. There was something incredibly emotional about watching him fly off exactly where he belonged.”
Rescue is such a huge part of the couple’s life, so it was only fitting that after traveling miles and miles to a new place, they’d end up rescuing a baby animal who they’ll surely never forget.
