Along the rocky outcrops, marine iguanas bathe in the hot sun before plunging into the cool waters, where they swim together with Galapagos penguins, and below the soaring, diving blue-footed boobies.
A confluence of oceanic currents fulfills at the Galapagos, giving rise to the extraordinary richness of wildlife– where southern ocean, cold-water creatures, such as penguins and fur seals, are discovered along with equatorial and North Pacific animals, such as sea lions and hammerhead sharks.
On land, the communities range from desert-like to lavish and tropical– depending on elevation, wind exposure and geological age of the island.
It is a crime to hurt or kill a tortoise in the Galapagos– penalties vary from the low to high thousands.
A local resident stops to get rid of a Galapagos tortoise from the roadway on the island of Santa Cruz.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
A white-tipped reef shark in the waters off North Seymour Island in the Galapagos.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
A juvenile blue-footed booby practices flapping his wings prior to starting to fly on North Seymour Island in the Galapagos.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
A blue-footed booby tends to her chicks on North Seymour Island in the Galapagos.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
With couple of tourists visiting the Galapagos, an infant sea lion has his first encounter with a human on North Seymour Island.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
Frigate birds fly off the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands are the breeding place for many species on land and in the sea.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
A sea lion rests on a bus stop bench in Puerto Ayora, where tourism is down drastically due to the pandemic.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
Peak Rock is a well known volcanic plug on Bartholomew Island, one of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
A red-footed booby sits above a group of iguanas on North Seymour Island, Galapagos.
( Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times)
Comments
Post a Comment