Santa Cruz & North Seymour Islands
Today we went out to search one of the most representative Galápagos' species, the famous giant tortoises which are the responsible for the origin of the name for this archipelago “Galápagos”.
Tortoises have an extensive fossil record, the oldest being known from the Triassic period in Germany. Giant tortoises themselves have a long history and a range of fossil genera.
Twelve species of giant tortoises are recognised and eleven of them are found in the Galápagos. The highlands of Santa Cruz hold one of the healthiest population of these reptiles and during our morning walk we were rewarded by the presence of several full grown individuals and few young ones. To find these reptiles in the middle of lush vegetation was priceless, specially those ones which were in the middle of muddy pools.
Taking perhaps advantage of last night’s rain, they were found this morning drinking from the muddy pools and at the same time, regulating their body temperature. We found them heading south, as they are in the middle of their yearly migration towards their nesting grounds.
For the afternoon, we visited the Island of North Seymour. This place is another jewel of the Galápagos; the variety of species that were found along the trail was astonishing, but it was even better to see them quite active performing their courtship behaviour, totally oblivious to our presence and the clicking away of our cameras.
By the end of the day we were blessed with an incredible sunset right behind the island of Daphne Mayor. This small little island is truly a living laboratory for evolution, making us all feel very privileged to witness such a magical time.
Today we went out to search one of the most representative Galápagos' species, the famous giant tortoises which are the responsible for the origin of the name for this archipelago “Galápagos”.
Tortoises have an extensive fossil record, the oldest being known from the Triassic period in Germany. Giant tortoises themselves have a long history and a range of fossil genera.
Twelve species of giant tortoises are recognised and eleven of them are found in the Galápagos. The highlands of Santa Cruz hold one of the healthiest population of these reptiles and during our morning walk we were rewarded by the presence of several full grown individuals and few young ones. To find these reptiles in the middle of lush vegetation was priceless, specially those ones which were in the middle of muddy pools.
Taking perhaps advantage of last night’s rain, they were found this morning drinking from the muddy pools and at the same time, regulating their body temperature. We found them heading south, as they are in the middle of their yearly migration towards their nesting grounds.
For the afternoon, we visited the Island of North Seymour. This place is another jewel of the Galápagos; the variety of species that were found along the trail was astonishing, but it was even better to see them quite active performing their courtship behaviour, totally oblivious to our presence and the clicking away of our cameras.
By the end of the day we were blessed with an incredible sunset right behind the island of Daphne Mayor. This small little island is truly a living laboratory for evolution, making us all feel very privileged to witness such a magical time.