At Point Defiance Zoo, a cluster of puffins has died from Chlamydia abortus, a bacterial pathogen ordinarily confined to the reproductive systems of livestock. The discovery, confirmed through necropsy and laboratory analysis, reminds us that in the compressed ecosystems of captivity, the boundaries between species and their diseases are far more permeable than nature intended. It is a quiet but sobering lesson in the hidden vulnerabilities that attend our efforts to preserve wild creatures within human-made worlds.