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Galapagos Animals and Wildlife Gallery (Part 2)

Beach Basking Beasts
	Hardly an uncommon sight, both of these creatures are often found basking on the shores of the Galapagos. Due to the fact that they both feed in the sea, they laze about on the sand and rocks digesting, soaking in the sun's warmth and dreaming.

Land Iguana
	Able to move remarkably quickly, land iguanas are mostly observed slow-moving or essentially in repose awaiting their next meal. That meal is a serving of raw cactus, meaning spines and all. While sometimes rolling the cactus pads on the ground, usually they leave their food in tact leaving it to their tough mouths to endure.

Marine Turtle
	Often seen off the side of the deck copulating, their tracks are noted on the beaches. Amazingly, the females generally return to the same beach where they were born. Feeding off of algae like the marine iguana, sea turtles can hold their breath for hours --allowing for the snorkeler to join them in the water.

Blue-footed Boobies

Perhaps the most famous of Galapagos birds, blue-footed boobies are as silly as they look. Names after the spanish word for clown, "bobo," due to their absolute lack of fear and humorous appearence, these birds are a bundle of humor. Their mating and brooding is an act in itself. After located each other via the male's whistle and the female's honks a courtship dance or act ensues. Showing each other how amazingly blue their feet are in almost off-balance fashion while eventually mirroring and "sky-pointing" with their beaks. Then ritualistic and symbolic presents of nest twigs are offered. These are never used, and the male and female make their nest on the open ground with a ring of guano and take turns sitting on the nest. The female can be distinguished by what appears to be a larger pupil (in reality her iris has a darker coloration around the eye).

Mockingbirds of the Galapagos	These birds are a classic example of adaptive radiation. Unlike their better known counter parts, they do not "mock" the sounds of other birds, and make their meal from a lizards, small finches, abandoned boobie eggs, and insects. Like many of their fellow inhabitants of the islands, they have virtually no fear of people and may in fact follow you out of curiousity.

Galapagos Penguins

The theory behind the existence of equatorial penguins originates with the ice age. Supposedly penguins arrived during this colder global climate from the Patagonia with the cold Humbolt current. Making a home in the Galapagos, they became stranded as the earth warmed and lost some of the fat of their southern cousins. At the Galapagos, these creatures are often seem to be chatting with one another on a rock penninsula or in the water, occasionally swimming up to snorkelers out of curiousity.

To investigate more about the amazing wildlife of the Galapagos, visit our links page .

» Go to Galapagos Wildlife Gallery Part 1