Moving species to save them fast gaining traction as climate change upends habitats

Wildlife workers relocate Tristram’s storm petrels on Hawaii’s Tern Island, on March 29, 2022. Scientists are making a dramatic effort to save the birds in Hawaii by moving them to an island they had never inhabited before. Photo: L. Young/Pacific Rim Conservation/AP

In a desperate effort to save a seabird species in Hawaii from rising ocean waters, scientists are moving chicks to a new island hundreds of miles away.

Moving species to save them – once considered taboo – is quickly gaining traction as climate change upends habitats. Similar relocations are being suggested for birds, lizards, butterflies and even flowers.