While millions of puffins come to Iceland every year to breed, they are rarely seen around Reykjavík city center, that’s except for Mundi the puffin.
Last spring, Mundi was found looking very sickly by the side of a road in Reykjavík. The woman who found him knew she had to help the little cutie and immediately jumped into action, bringing him to the safety of her home. Not knowing what to do, she contacted her friend, Ásrún Magnúsdóttir for help. Ásrún didn’t hesitate and went straight over to her friend’s house to see if she could be of any help.
The day Mundi was found by the side of the road. Photo source: Mundi the Puffin / Ásrún Magnúsdóttir
Upon seeing the extent of his injuries, Ásrún decided to take him to the vet. With a broken beak and unable to fly, the vet declared his injuries quite severe and said the little guy would have to be put down, but for Ásrún that wasn’t an option. She felt that Mundi was strong enough to recover, so she decided to bring him back to her home, where she lives with her two cats and two dogs.
Mundi on day 2, as you can see his eye and beak weren’t in great shape. Photo source: Mundi the Puffin / Ásrún Magnúsdóttir
Ásrún’s original plan was to nurse Mundi back to full health and release him into the wild where he belongs, but as the puffin got better with every day, Ásrún started to notice something strange with him. Mundi had begun walking into walls and was completely unresponsive to the movement around him. After a bit of observation, Ásrún came to the conclusion that Mundi was completely blind. This lack of vision meant that he would be unable to survive in the wild, so Ásrún decided that the only logical option was to keep him!
Mundi and his rescuer, Ásrún, after he had made a full recovery. Photo source: Mundi the Puffin / Ásrún Magnúsdóttir
