Family : Iguanidae
Genus : Tropidurus
Lifespan : 10 ans
Max. Length : 30 cm
The life of the lava lizard is organized around the regulation of its body temperature. In the morning it basks on a rock in the sun in order to increase its temperature as quickly as possible. During the hottest part of the day it stands up on its hind legs in order to reduce body heat. They are particularly active in the evening, but return to their den before nightfall to avoid too brutal a drop in temperature. On cooler days the lizard begins its day a little later and returns to its den earlier.

The males are larger and twice as heavy as the females. The females are easily recognizable by their orange throats. The males are territorial and agressive with regard to each other. A male will couple with 3 to 5 females on his territory, each female laying between 3 and 6 eggs. After an incubation period of 3 months the baby 4 cm-lizards are born.

The lava lizard feeds mainly on seeds, leaves and insects. Like many lizards, its tail is detachable; it grows back once only. Given the geographical spread and evolutionary traits of the seven species scientists believe in a double ancestral strain. The lava lizard is totally absent from Tower, Darwin and Wolf islands.

Family: Otaridae
Species: Zalophus californianus et Arctocephalus galapagoensis

Zalophus californianus

The ten-year-old adult male weighs 250 kg and has a concave head.
The eight-year-old adult female weighs 120 kg.

During the mating season the males will defend an area of several hundred square metres for a period of two weeks or so. The females choose their male, but remain free to change their territory. A male may have up to 30 females in his harem. Coupling takes place in the water, and fertilization two months later. Gestation lasts for 9 months after which the female gives birth on land to a single young one of 5 kgs. A week after giving birth the female returns to the sea to feed. The baby sea lion is breast fed for two years. Mother and baby recognize each other by sound and smell, which is why it is strictly forbidden to stroke baby sea lions. A simple touch of the human hand is enough to condemn the little one to death.

The Galapagos Californianus sea lion feeds mainly on sardines which it fishes at a depth of between 30 and 100 metres. Sea lions are extremely playful animals and may live for up to 20 years. Its main enemy is the shark. A viral disease called “seal-pox” has killed off a large number of a population currently estimated at about 50,000 animals.

Arctocephalus galapagoensis

The furred sea lion, which hails from the Southern Hemisphere is smaller in size with a pointy nose and large, sad, vitreous eyes. The male weighs 75 kgs and the female 35 kgs.

Other differences:
Copulation takes place on land.
The furred sea lion fishes at night, except during the full moon to avoid being attacked by sharks.

Threatened with extinction at the beginning of the century due to over-intensive hunting, the furred sea lion population now numbers 40,000.

Differences between the sea lion and the seal

• Seals cannot support themselves on their frontal flippers.
• Seals can only swim with their rear flippers.
• Seals have no external ear.

Family: Testudinae
Genus: Geochelone
Species: Elephantus
Population: 15 races comprising 15,000 animals
Lifespan: over 100 years (160 max ?)
Max. weight: 250 kg

Giant tortoises would have been brought to the Galapagos by ocean currents off the South American continent. Until the arrival of man they had no predators and they numbered over 250,000 . Pirates used them as a fresh meat reserve aboard ship. Yet it was the introduction of rats, dogs and goats that really spelled disaster.

Today, giant tortoises are mainly present on the islands of Isabella (6,500), Santiago and San Cristobal. As part of a protection programme set up to save the tortoises, eggs are incubated at the Darwin Station, and young 4-year-old tortoises are set free on the different islands of the archipelago.

There are two types of tortoise:
- The saddle-backed tortoise: the carapace is raised towards the front, the neck and the feet are long. This morphology enables the tortoise to eat cactus leaves growing high up on the plant.
- The dome-shaped tortoise: a heavier and bulkier species which feeds on the ground. It is to be found in areas of dense vegetation.

Means of reproduction

Coupling takes place during the warm season and the eggs are layed between June and December. The female digs a nest 30 cms deep, lays a dozen eggs or so and covers it over with a thin layer of sand, excrement and urine. After an incubation period of about 200 days the eggs hatch. For the saddle-backed tortoise a few eggs will successfully hatch, for the dome-shaped tortoise this may number a dozen or so. The sex of the babies depends on the incubation temperature: if over thirty degrees they will be female, if under they will be male.

Genus: Conolophus
Species: subcristalus et pallidus
Lifespan: Over 70 years
Max. Weight: 7 kgs for males: 3 kgs for females
Max. Length: 1.2 metres

They are to be found on the islands of Santa Cruz, Plaza, Isabella, Fernandina and Santa Fe. The Galapagos land iguana has no fear of man which makes them very easy to observe. They live in colonies and make their burrows in the most arid zones. They feed on grass, cactus, sea lion placenta and dead animals. .

During the mating period, the male defends a territory of several hundred square metres. The female chooses its partner. A male may have several females on its territory.

The female lays a dozen or so eggs in a 2 metre deep nest. The eggs are incubated for 4 months at 32 degrees. Beetles prey on the eggs, snakes, hawks and herons prey on the newly borns, and the main predators for adult iguanas are wild dogs.

In the wake of attacks by wild dogs on the land iguana colonies of Santa Cruz and Isabella, the Darwin Station has, since 1976, undertaken a protection and conservation programme for them similar to that of the giant tortoises.

Genus : Spheniscus
Species : mendiculus
Max. Height: 35 cm debout
Max. Speed: 40 Klm/h underwater

The Galapagos penguin is closely related to the species of penguins found in the South of Chili and on islands near the Antartic. Thus it is very surprising to find this species in the tropics.

Classed as a bird, but unable to fly, the penguin is an excellent swimmer, especially underwater. It propels itself through the water with its wings using its webbed feet as a rudder. At the break of day it jumps into the water to begin its day’s fishing, returning before nightfall to sleep on land in small groups. The penguin fishes in packs of several dozen birds, yet the warmer the water, the smaller the hunting groups. As in colder waters schools of fish tend to be bigger, hunting in large packs seems to be the best strategy of attack.

Their burlesque gait and head movements (salutations, mating dance) make them comic and pleasant to watch. Thieir awkwardness on land is in direct contrast to their agility in the water. They may often be seen leaping out of the sea like dolphins.

Population

In the wake of “El Nino” in 1983 the Galapagos penguin population was decimated from 12,000 to just 2,000 birds, making them not so easy to spot.
The most populated zones are Fernandina, the west coast of Isabella and Pinnacle Rock on Bartolome

Reproduction

The penguin chooses a partner for life and makes its nest in a hole to protect it from the sun. The female lays one or two eggs which hatch five weeks later. Under favourable conditions a couple can theoretically produce eggs every five weeks.

Latin name : Pelecanus occidentalis

Population : in the region of 3,000 couples.

The Galapagos Pelican is one of the archipelago’s largest birds and the smallest of the eight species of pelican known throughout the world. Its highly elegant style of flight, which consists of a series of long glides, is a wonderful spectacle indeed, especially when the birds fly in perfectly synchronized group formation.

Reproduction

The pelican only reproduces when conditions are favourable: the time and place are of secondary importance. The birds form small colonies and each couple builds their makeshift nest in the upper branches of small trees. The female lays 2 to 3 eggs which are hatched by the couple over a period of 4 weeks. The chick are fed in the nest for a period of 10 weeks. The parents bring up the chicks with relative success, but the mortality rate amongst young adults is high. Mastery of fishing techniques is extremely difficult for the young birds.

The art of fishing

The lower half of the pelican’s beak consists of a pouch which it uses as a fishing net. Here’s how the pelican fishes:
In flight, the pelican spots its fish and dives. While the tail and wings remain above water, the bird plunges its head under the surface to catch the fish in its pouch.
It then lifts its head above water and expels the sea water so that only the fish remain in the pouch; which may hold from 7 to 10 litres of water and enable the bird to catch fish of up to 35 cm in length.

Incoming search terms:

• pelican bird

Latin name : Nyctanassa violacea

As its name indicates, this heron is particularly active at night. It can however be encountered during the day, perhaps in the shadow of a rock. Its large yellow eye gives it a somewhat surprising aspect. This wading bird feeds on insects, crabs and scorpions. The night heron is present throughout the islands, a tranquil and extremely silent species.

Latin name : Larus fuliginosus
Population : 400 couples

This gull is relatively rare, but fortunately it does not fear man and will happily land on boats at sea. Its cry is amazingly like a human laugh.

Reproduction

The couple nests in isolation in a hollow in the cliff face and fiercely defends its territory against all intruders. The female lays two eggs, and the two chicks are brought up together.

Fishing and hunting

The Lava Gull feeds on small fish which it catches near the surface of the water. It also steals the eggs of other seabirds and hunts newborn iguanas and baby turtles.

Latin name : 4 groups:

Ground finches
–Geospiza scandens
–Geospiza conirostris
–Geospiza fuliginosa
–Geospiza fortis
–Geospiza magnirostris
–Geospiza difficilis

Tree finches
–Camarynchus parvulus
–Camarynchus pauper
–Camarynchus psittacula
–Cactospiza pallidus
–Cactospiza heliobates

Vegetarian Finch
–Platyspiza cassirostris

Warbler Finch
–Certhidea olivacea

Coco Islands Finch
–Pinaroloxias inornata

Finches: their beak

There are 13 species of finches in the Galapagos, not including the Coco Islands Finch which is a related species. Each species has a highly characteristic beak shape. Darwin focussed his study on the link between the shape of the beak, the food and the habitat of each species. This research of his was to result in the theory of evolution and the 14 finches became “stars” in their own right.

Reproduction

This does not differ from one species to another. The female lays 2 to 4 eggs which hatch after 2 weeks of incubation. The male looks after the young for two weeks after the female has left. During this time, environmental conditions permitting, the female mates with another male.

Latin name : Nesominus parvulus, Nesominus trifasciatus, Nesominus Macdonaldi, Nesominus melanotis

There are four species of mocking bird, all endemic species. They differ, one from the other, in the shape of their beaks: a result of the different environmental adaptation undergone by the original species. They are extremely curious by nature and will certainly come up to meet you.

Reproduction

The couple mark off a territory which they defend with the aid of the young birds from the previous hatching. Such “family” organization is unique on the archipelago. The young birds help their parents until the newborn chicks are fledged.

Community living

When not reproducing, the mocking birds organize themselves into groups of 9 to 40 birds (according to the islands) to defend their territory. You may even witness pitched battles between neighbouring groups

Incoming search terms:

• images of moking birds