by Athman Adiseshan

Created on: June 11, 2008   Last Updated: May 08, 2010

There is one island in the world where mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and humans reside peacefully in the same area. Nowhere else would anybody find a marvelous plethora of creatures great and small. You might have guessed it, this land is called the Galapagos Islands! Galpagos is widely known for it's endemic wildlife, especially the Galapagos Tortoise and the Marine Iguanas. Galapagos is divided into numerous islands all consisting of its wide variety of wildlife.

First I will cover the life and habits of the famous Galapagos Tortoise. The giant tortoises are known to live up to 150 years in average! The tortoise always is wearing its armor; its rock-solid shell is combined with its ribs to form it's ultimate armor. The creature is an herbivore and munches on treats like lush, fresh grass and poison apples (the poison apple is highly hazardous to humans but is a all-time favorite for the tortoise). Unfortunately, the abundance of this unique creature is decreasing and the estimated population of it is now 15,000 throughout the islands. There are 13 subspecies of tortoises, of which two are extinct. Lonesome George, who is a one-of-a-kind species, is the last-living Pinta Tortoise (Geochelone nigra abingdoni).

I will now uncover the secrets of the Marine Iguana. This iguana, being cold-blooded, spends a short period of time in the sea in which it consumes algae. The Marine Iguana is black in color but as the creatures get older they turn grey. Darwin described these creatures as " The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large (2-3 ft) most disgusting clumsy Lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. I call them 'imps of darkness'. They assuredly well become the land they inhabit." This reptile is also endangered and its population is decreasing. It's predators are cats and dogs which harm the Iguana.

Another creature of the Galapagos Islands is the Blue-Footed Booby, which is a seabird that feeds on fish and squids. This bird is approximately 45-48 cm in size and usually 3 kg. Fortunately, this seabird is not even close to endangered and is quite widespread in Galapagos and also on the coasts of California! The Galapagos Penguin is a similar creature to the Blue-Footed Booby and is 48-50cm in size and weighs 2.5kg. Its appearance is similar to a larger penguin with a black-capped head and a white stomach. It's predators are its main cause for its decline in population. In 2004, the estimated amount of Galapagos penguins remaining is only 1,500!

I have revealed only a few of the species in Galapagos, but there are still Darwin's finches, frigate birds, albatrosses, gulls, pelicans, Galapagos hawks, the Flightless Cormorant, whales, dolphins, and much more!

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