A sad farewell to Cliff

The animal care team at the Sanctuary, alongside the Rosevean veterinarian team, worked tirelessly to give Cliff the best care possible, but unfortunately, we lost Cliff to a very sudden and short illness on Friday the 5^th of September. We are currently awaiting post-mortem results to understand the cause of his illness.

It is never easy to lose one of our family, and it is especially difficult for the animals left behind. Cliff made quite the entrance when he arrived at Puffin Island and Billie quickly became his biggest fan. Last year they partnered up and were inseparable ever since. His passing has been particularly hard for her, but our animal care team are making sure that she is receiving all the extra love and care she needs.

Cliff arrived at the sanctuary in December last year, from Curraghs Wildlife Park over in the Isle of Man, where he was rescued back in 2022 due to malnourishment, and a heavy parasitic burden. After receiving care urgent care from the Curraghs Wildlife team, he went from strength to strength. However, he could not be released despite his recovery, as it became apparent Cliff could not fly properly. As a result, we were asked if we could offer Cliff a permanent home and we welcomed him with open arms.

Cliff was certainly one of a kind, he looked a little different from the others when he first arrived, and he had never seen another puffin, so found living with 10 others quite intimidating at first. He swiftly found a friend in Karen, so much so that he began copying her every move; the way she swam, the way she ate and the way she walked, including her limp! It took him a while, but he did eventually figure out how to be his own puffin. He found his favourite preening spot, he found a partner in Billie, and he also found if he was quick enough, he could steal a fish from other puffins and avoid stepping on the scales when the animal care team tried to bribe him on weighing day!

We will miss him dearly here at the sanctuary, and we know that you will miss him too. We’d like to thank you all for your continued support and wanted to say a special thank you to all of you who visited puffin island, fell in love with him, and decided to adopt him. Puffin Island certainly won’t be the same without him.