Galapagos Nature & Wildlife: Flora and Fauna

Discover the many plants and animals of the Galapagos Islands. Travel to Galapagos to experience the beauty of Galapagos nature and wildlife firsthand!

1. The Unique Swallow Tailed Gulls One of the biological peculiarities of Galapagos, and certainly one that attracts thousands of nature interested and loving voyagers and explorers is the high concentration of “endemic species”, those that only inhabit on this remote archipelago and nowhere else on earth… This is the case of the Swallow-tailed Gulls…     2. Sally-Lightfoot Crabs When visitors make their first landing on a Galapagos island shore or even at the harbors and docks, one of their first eye-catchers and matter of admiration will usually be the dozens of red and blackish crabs, teeming on the dark lava coastline… Their colors, movements and uniqueness create one more element of curiosity to the already magic environment….     3. Galapagos Lava Lizards One of the most outstanding features which make the Galapagos Islands so special is the existence of such a large number of species, known as “endemic”, meaning that they live exclusively on the “Enchanted Archipelago”. Thus, the word “unique” is a perfect synonymous for Galapagos…. The case applies for many or most of the land and sea birds, reptiles, mammals, fishes and land or marine invertebrates….     4. Galapagos Mockingbirds Amongst the unique fauna of the Galapagos Islands there are four species of mockingbirds, all members of the same family of smallish and somewhat noisy land birds. As opposed to sea birds (who feed on the ocean); land birds feed on land products of all sources. The name “mockingbird” derives from the fact that they frequently mimic or reproduce the sounds of other birds, either as a distracting tactic or, eventually, as an amusing genetic trait…..

The Galapagos Flora sets the pace

Most likely the flora of the islands started this way:

1. With spores and seeds carried by the winds and "stopped" by the newly formed islands.
2. By seeds stuck to feet and plumage of migratory birds, or passed through their digestive system.
3. Via chunks of vegetation rushed to the sea by overflowing rivers and conducted throughout the ocean by the marine currents.

It happened then, it happens now. Not all seeding can "fuse" with the rocky land. Only those with simple germination necessities can adapt to the barren environment to survive and evolve in forms growing every day.
Going from shores to highlands, it has been agreed to define five zones of vegetation life in Galapagos:

1. Coastal. The sea borders are apt to salt water plants like the Red Mangrove, with its typical aerial roots and the Beach Morning Glory abundant in Santiago and other islands.
2. Arid. Cacti territories! Among a good variety, the big and famous Opuntia Cactus, (prickly-pear) in many places the only source of food and moisture for reptiles; and the graceful Candelabra Cactus. Among the newer black lavas you find Brachycereus Cactus (or aptly called lava cactus). Another typical of the zone, and common on all large islands, is a Bursera Tree of light bark called Palo Santo (holy wood), after the reddish sap that bleeds from wounds. High number of endemic plant species.
3. Humid. Epiphytes like orchids, mosses, ferns and lichens thrive in this zone's constant moisture and ornate trees and shrubs with color and charm. Typical at this degree of humidity are the Scalesias and Pisonias. Not much is said about the highlands of Galápagos, but in reality this is an amazing cloud forest with unique features.
4. Miconia. Particular to San Cristobal and Santa Cruz, this zone is named after the ever-present Miconias that require high humidity.
5. Pampa. In the populated islands this is farmland or Pampas. The temperature is low and grass is abundant; good to cultivate commercial products and raise cattle.

BIRDS: THE LARGEST BIRD IN THE ISLANDS

The Waved Albatross is found around the East Pacific. With a wingspan of 11 feet (3.5 m.) an albatross can follow wind currents for days. Their only home in Galapagos is Española (Hood) Island where spectacular courtship-displays amaze any visitor. Albatrosses depart their lovely grounds by early January and return by early April. They follow the cold waters back to the coast of South America. When the southeast trade winds come back, they not only bring cool nutrient-rich waters, but the albatrosses as well. Among the many interesting features of the waved albatross is the feeding mechanism of their young: fish oil! What an adaptation for long-feeding trips in the ocean.

RED-FOOTED BOOBIES
The only ones with prehensile feet. They nest on Palo Santo trees or bushes. A precocious group, red-footed boobies start mating when they still have their juvenile plumage (which may explain the healthy size of the colony.) Most abundant in the "bird island" of Genovesa (Tower). Worth mentioning: red-footed boobies are the most numerous of all, but the least seen of all. Reason: their nesting colonies are found along the peripheral islands of Galápagos.

BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES
Fearless divers -- from 100 feet (30 m.) or more -- and picturesque dancers with their beaks pointing up to the sky, while stomping the ground with their huge bright blue webbed feet. Favorite nesting islands are: Española, the Daphnes, Isabela and North Seymour. Look for their courtship display: pelican dance and sky pointing. Their loud calls will get your attention: males whistle, while females honk. Look carefully at their eyes: it seems one has a larger pupil than the other one. Which is male, which is female?

Females seem to have larger pupils because more black pigmentation is present around their pupils. Did you guess right?

NAZCA BOOBIES (formerly Masked Boobies)

They are the largest of the three species. Big nesting colonies are found in Genovesa and Española. Usually, they lay and hatch two eggs, but if so, the younger chick is left out, and the older one is raised in better survival conditions. This is known as sibling murder. Check this out: eggs are laid five days apart, and so they hatch five days apart. If you happen to see this, you'll notice an incredible size difference between the two chicks. Scientists wonder why such high investment of energy ends up in the loss of one of the two chicks. Natural selection at work!

THE GALAPAGOS (FLIGHTLESS) CORMORANT
Lives in the westernmost islands, Fernandina and Isabela, where there is plenty of food and nesting habitat for this unusual seabird. In islands with plenty of food and safety, the cormorants had no practical use for their wings and, simply, by means of natural selection, became flightless. In fact, it is the only cormorant in the world that does not fly. You can even count the number of feathers on each wing!

FRIGATE BIRDS
The Frigate birds, also called Man O'War, are sea birds that are virtually not waterproof! What a contradiction! They are large (almost 6 feet/1.8 m. wingspan), lightweight and have a long, hooked beak to catch fish without getting wet. Frigates have an easier way to get food: stealing from other birds, specially red-footed boobies (this is, naturally, a survival strategy). And when it is time to raise a family, they settle in others' nests, or abscond with some sticks.

Male frigates have shiny green or purple plumage (depending on the species) and a resplendent scarlet pouch, which is displayed in courtship. There are two species of frigates in Galapagos: The Magnificent Frigate Bird and the Great Frigate Bird. Their main nesting colonies are found in Genovesa (Tower) and North Seymour Islands.

THE MOST NORTHERLY OF ALL PENGUINS
The Galápagos Penguins congregate along the rocky lava shores of Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, and Bartolome, islands cooled off by both the Cromwell and Humboldt currents. The Humboldt Current is the one that brought them all the way up to these tropical latitudes. Want to analyze a movie that talks about this? Watch Walt Disney's "The Three Caballeros". Funny. Look carefully for crevices in the rocky lava shorelines for penguins nest inside them. Small lava tubes are favorite places too. Dare to see a torpedo in the water? Jump in with the penguins and watch these graceful, but rocket fast birds, fly through the water like an arrow.

GRACEFUL AND FAST
The Red-billed Tropic Bird is a fanciful vision when it zips by into the horizon, or dives straight at a breakneck speed into the waves. Like albatrosses, this is a pelagic feeder. Pelagic comes from the Greek word pelagos, meaning oceanic-going. These birds easily travel 40-50 miles away from their nesting colony for feeding purposes. Dressed in pure white plumage, a long graceful tail and a bright red bill, the tropicbird is one of the unforgettable memories of Galapagos. Look for spectacular and loud air shows at Española, and Genovesa Islands.

PINK AT SEA
The Greater Flamingo arrived from the Caribbean and is the most impressive and colorful of all the lagoon and shore birds. It is also one of the endangered of the species in the islands. Introduced carnivores, like cats and dogs, can easily feed on the chicks.
Flamingos love privacy: They do not tolerate disturbances when breeding; their nests consist of mounds of mud. Flamingos feed on crustaceans and plants, and live in Floreana, Isabela, Rabida, Santa Cruz, and Santiago. Did you know adults flamingos feed their young with something known as "pink milk"? Did you figure out how flamingos are kept pink

Galapagos Natural Facts

The islands emerged about five million years ago, give or take a million, as a result of violent volcanic action. In geological terms, this should be considered a recent event.

As the young islands were cooling off, say, two million years later, some species gradually arrived. They were live organisms riding on "rafts of vegetation" from the shores of Central and South America. Unusual climatic events, like flooding, can take lots of vegetation rafts eventually to the ocean. Therefore, it is pure chance that allows a raft to eventually reach Galápagos. These early immigrants had to adapt to a peculiar new environment, and simply evolved -- slowly -- in a different direction from their continental ancestors. And, wonders of nature, they developed into species unique to the islands, with features not seen in their past ancestors.