GALAPAGOS WILDLIFE

PHOTOS: Mockingbird and
Marine Iguana, from Galapagos
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GALAPAGOS WILDLIFE

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The Galapagos Islands are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean straddling the equator.

The Galapagos unique location at the junction of several currents including the cold nutrient rich waters of the Humboldt Current traveling north from South America and the Panama Current traveling south making the islands cooler than you would think and provide the perfect environment for the unique wildlife that lives there including wildlife you might normally find in warmer climates like the Pink Flamingo a few feet away from animals you might only find in cooler environments like the Galapagos Penguin.

The islands were born from a hotspot under the ocean floor and are volcanic in origin.

Having never been attached to a continent all the species that arrived in the Galapagos arrived by flying, floating or swimming.

Larger mammals which are normally at the top of the food chain were unable to survive the arduous ocean journey.
The giant tortoise, is a herbivore, that became the dominant land mammal.

It is the lack of natural predators, the wildlife in the Galapagos is known for being extremely tame.
Up close interactions with the amazing wildlife is for many the highlight of their journey.

Due to the harsh conditions of the islands many of the species which made the journey found it necessary to adapt in order to survive.
Thus the Galapagos is home to a large number of endemic species.

The Galapagos Islands are noted as a home to many endemic species including the marine iguana, << the only sea going iguana in the world >>.

It was after visiting the Galapagos and studying the endemic wildlife that Charles Darwin developed his Theory of Evolution.

The Galapagos Islands have a wide array of endemic wildlife including invertebrates, birds, reptiles and a few mammals all of which can be found in Galapagos and 'nowhere else in the world' .

The Galapagos Tortoise is the most well-known of all the endemic wildlife.
All of the Galapagos Tortoise subspecies are considered endangered wildlife due to hunting and introduced species.


ANIMALS
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With the lack of predatory mammals life on the islands is dominated by reptiles represented by the famous Galapagos Tortoise, land iguanas and marine iguanas, snakes, lava lizards and sea turtles.
These creatures closely represent their relatives on the South American continent.

There are 27 species of reptiles in the Galapagos of which 17 are endemic (species found only in the Galapagos).

The colorful and plentiful Galapagos iguanas are a common endemic species.

The Galapagos is home to :
·terrestrial iguanas (land iguanas),
·marine iguanas
·and a hybrid of the two.

People travel from all over the world to see the Galapagos wildlife.
Here on these Pacific Islands the biologic make-up is significantly different than that on the South American mainland.

One thing that often amazes visitors is that life under the sea is as rich and varied as that above.

Galapagos Marine Life consists of a mix of warm water and cold water species as well as to sharks, rays, Cetaceans. Green turtles and hawkbill turtles can be seen in the waters.

Almost 300 species of fish have been noted, many of which like the land animals are endemic to the Galapagos.

A favorite of photographers is the bright red 'Sally-Lightfoot Crab' contrasted to the black lava rocks along the coast where it lives.

This is the least studied portion of the Galapagos wildlife.
Over the past few years attention has begun being paid to the remarkable underwater world.
These creatures consist of more than just the fur seals, sea lions and sally lightfoot crabs that are ever apparent.

It also includes 16 species of whales and 7 types of dolphin, 18 species of morays, 5 species of rays, 12 species of sharks as well as various other underwater creatures including from star fish to sea cucumbers.

Diving in the Galapagos is one of the top dive sites in the world, due to the abundant marine life and the opportunity to dive with big sharks like hammerheads
and whale sharks.



GALAPAGOS BIRDS
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The majority of animals seen by visitors are birds.
A haven for bird enthusiast the Galapagos is home to a variety of sea and land birds including three species of booby, penguins, finches, flightless cormorants and waved albatross to name a few.
The sheer number and the seemingly tame nature of these birds is sure to amaze all who visit.

The native Galapagos Bird population includes 57 residents almost half of which are endemic, the rest are regular migrants.

Darwin's Finch includes 13 species that have adapted to their island setting.
Other endemics include the lava gull, Galapagos Penguin, dark-rumped petrel, Galapagos Flightless Cormorant, lava heron, Galapagos Martin and Galapagos Dove.

The Galapagos Islands have a rich and diversified bird representation. Early in the development of the islands many migratory birds made their way across the seas from neighboring Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to the islands. Over the years additional birds began to arrive with the assistance of the trade winds. Today of the 19 species of birds residing in the Galapagos 50% are endemic and 25% are exclusive to the islands including the Galapagos Penguin, flightless cormorant, waved albatross, lava gull and the swallow tailed gull.

More than 700,000 migratory sea birds can be seen in the islands.
The Galapagos is home to almost 1/3 of the world's blue footed booby population, the highest concentration of masked boobies (Nazca boobies) and the largest colony of red footed boobies.

Few species of land birds inhabit the Galapagos since land birds are typically not the excellent flyers that sea birds are, of the 29 species present 22 are endemic.

While some birds have changed little over the years from their ancestors who first arrived in the islands others have altered slightly to create a new subspecies in the Galapagos like the vermillion flycatcher and the short eared owl.

Other wildlife has evolved into a new species like in the case of the Galapagos Hawk and Galapagos Dove.

The most dramatic evolutionary changes can be seen in birds like the mockingbird or finch which has developed into several new subspecies depending based on their environment in the islands.














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