Galapagos - Home of Strange & Unique Animals
Expect the Unexpected
Fly to Guayaquil via Quito, Ecuador. Never heard of Guayaquil? Neither had I. But it is the final jumping point before taking the 600-mile flight west of mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. These exotic islands, home to 9,000 different species of animals, form the world’s most renowned natural animal habitat and sanctuary.
Seventeen species of animals living on the Galapagos Islands are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else on the planet.
Maybe you studied biology in high school, but I didn’t. Unfortunately, I focused my studies on physics and chemistry. My knowledge about biology was limited to 7th grade when I learned to identify the different parts of a carrot plant. Frankly, I come up short when words like “endemic” are used to describe certain species of animals.
According to confirmed records, humans have not introduced any of the 9,000 species that inhabit the Galapagos. That is an impressive statistic! (I do wonder, however, how exactly could one ever prove or disprove that particular statement?)
Allow me to introduce you to the most famous native inhabitant of the Galapagos Islands. He is numero uno on the Galapagos endemic species list:
Introducing: The Giant Tortoise
Most people mistakenly assume Charles Darwin named the islands. In fact, Darwin neither discovered nor named the islands. According to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, in 1570, a Belgian cartographer named Abraham Ortelius referred to the islands as Insulae de los Galopegos - “Islands of the Tortoise.” Reportedly, he received news about the giant tortoises from a nugget of information in a letter sent to King Charles V of Spain from the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga, who discovered the islands in 1535.
So, Charles Darwin gets all the fame and credit, while no-namers Abraham Ortelius and Fray Tomas de Berlanga were the real players behind the scenes. How typical.
Two hundred years ago the giant tortoise population of the Galapagos Islands topped 250,000. Today it has dwindled to less than 20,000. Now protected as an endangered species, the giant tortoise has no natural predators - other than human beings.
Ranging in weight from 250 to 600 pounds, these massive vertebrates can survive a full year without food or water - a unique characteristic that almost led to their extinction. Giant tortoises served as a staple food source to Pacific sailing ships for several centuries. The tortoises were simply stored alive on ships and kept for fresh meat sources on long sea voyages. It was good for the sailors and disastrous for the Galapagos tortoises.
In 1959, the government of Ecuador declared the Galapagos Islands a National Park. Along with that declaration, the giant tortoises became a protected species.
Thank goodness!
An interesting note: All of the pictures I have posted in this writing were taken with my old Blackberry cell phone. The camera on the phone was only capable of snapping a photo. So, the pictures are exactly as they were taken, and they haven’t been touched up or enlarged. Quite amazing… considering the clarity and detail in the photos.
Next Up: The Iguanas
Take a look at these fellows. Aren’t they stunning? Check out the detail and incredible color variation in their scales. These friendly reptiles and I were right up close and personal with each other - eyeball to eyeball, nose to nose.
The Galapagos Pink Land Iguana is a critically endangered species. The total official population is 211. Programs are being examined to help increase the shrinking numbers and prevent extinction.
There are 200,000 - 300,000 Galapagos Marine Iguanas. They grow up to five feet in length and weigh up to 26 pounds.
This inquisitive marine iguana clambered up the rocks to visit me.
I confess that living in Texas for a number of years helped me become somewhat accustomed to the sight of lizards and other creepy-crawly critters. In my pre-Texas years, just the thought of a tete-a-tete with the likes of a five-foot-long Galapagos iguana would have terrified me into cardiac failure.
Texas is not the place to live for the faint of mind and the weak of heart. It is a perfect prerequisite to the Galapagos. After all, socializing with an amicable marine iguana was child’s-play compared to stepping on a snake in my kitchen or discovering a lime-green lizard straddled across my toothbrush. (Do not ask what he was doing to my toothbrush.) Then there was the toad perched on my bathroom faucet while his buddies swam and frolicked in the toilet bowl. Still, no account of my initiation into true Texanhood would be complete without mention of the water moccasins and copperhead snakes snooping around my patio or the cantankerous scorpion that dared to take a charge at me in my own living room!
With true Texas courage, I approached the iguanas with a mutual understanding: Don’t scare the snot out of me, and I won’t scare the snot out of you.
Evidently, Charles Darwin didn’t take a liking to the iguanas as much as I did. Perhaps he needed to live in Texas for a few years before he started galivanting around the equatorial isles looking for new species of animals.
Here is what Darwin wrote about the iguanas: “The black lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large most disgusting, clumsy lizards.”
On the contrary, Mr. Darwin, the iguanas are uniquely beautiful. They are timid, gentle, social creatures.
On Another Note: What Is It?
Park rangers are required to accompany all visitors in the Galapagos Islands. Their job is twofold: To provide education and to oversee the preservation of the natural habitat. We toured the islands on a small ship, along with fourteen other visitors, two park rangers, and a full crew. The food and service were par excellence.
Seriously, what is that thing? Well, what does it look like? On second thought, don’t answer that question.
That, so I found out, is a culinary experience, a coveted delicacy - a sea cucumber.
One evening, our talented chef-extraordinaire served an exotic dessert - sea cucumber topped with hot caramel sauce. Hey, what harm can come from eating a cucumber? I ate it, silently assuring myself, “Open mouth, swallow, engage brain later.” It wasn’t delicious - it wasn’t horrible. It was like eating unflavored, spongey gelatin covered with hot caramel sauce. I surmised, “I really do not want to know what this is.” Visions of unpleasant digestive consequences popped into my mind…
Perhaps it would have been more prudent to decline dessert?
That ain’t no ordinary cucumber, sweetheart!
That is an invertebrate animal (an animal without a backbone) that lives at the bottom of the sea. Oblong shaped and gelatinous, the sea cucumber’s mouth is on one end and its rectum on the other. So? Isn’t it par usual for most creatures to have an in-and-out mechanism? Well, yes. But given that it breathes through its rectum, the sea cucumber is not a typical creature. Furthermore, the posterior is also the focus of the sea cucumber’s defense mechanism - it blasts its intestines out its rear end and completely entangles predators with hair-like filaments. And let’s not disregard that the sea cucumber’s rectum is a place of refuge for small, silver-colored sea creatures called pearlfish.
Yup! You read that right. The sea cucumber harbors fish up its butt!
Note to self: In the future, when I don’t want to know what I’m eating - don’t eat it!
If you want a severe case of acute dermatitis, just pick one of these slimy guys up with your bare hands. Looks can be deceiving, they are not docile globs of squishy gelatin. Sea cucumbers can be quite nasty critters if not handled properly.
Sea cucumbers are a lucrative commodity. Current markets for Galapagos sea cucumbers yield $1,000 - $1,200 per kilogram on the Asian market and $ 40 per kilogram on the U.S. market.
Point to ponder: Given that they are fully loaded with extra seafood, I wonder if sea cucumber butt-ends cost more than front-ends at the market?
What about this pickle-shaped creature is appealing?
I admit, I am not a seafood enthusiast. The sea cucumber population of the earth would be completely safe to multiply on all the ocean floors and house as many pearlfish as they can stuff up their butts. I, for one, am not likely to interfere with their harmonious arrangement.
However, culinary artists around the globe have a different perspective on these coveted creatures, recognizing the nutritional attributes of sea cucumbers and using them creatively in many forms of recipes.
Look But Don’t Touch: Fur Seals
In certain areas inhabited by fur seals, another endemic species, visitors are allowed to play in the water with the congenial animals. The park rangers, perhaps yet another endemic Galapagos species, have eyes in the back of their heads and a highly tuned, uncanny sixth sense of knowing exactly when a rebel visitor teeters on the edge of breaking the cardinal rule: Do Not Touch the Animals!
Galapagos Park regulations strictly forbid the touching or handling of any land or sea animals.
The message is perfectly clear. Swim with the seals if you want. But the wrath of the rangers will fall on you quicker than the twitch of a whisker or the flip of a flipper if you dare touch one of those playful critters. Keep ‘yer paws to yourself!
Three days sailing around the islands and my old nemesis, sea sickness was beating me up. While my shipmates frolicked with the seals in the water, I seized the opportunity to plant my carcass terra-firma on solid ground, lounging on the beach.
Ugh! Was it sea sickness? Or sea cucumber sickness? Oh no! Do not think about sea cucumbers!
Just as I dozed off in queasy semi-consciousness, something plopped into my lap, jolting me out of my nauseous stupor. In record speed, Ms. Super-Ranger towered above me, taking immediate charge, “Don’t move!”
Huh?! What had I done? Was she going to shoot me? And WHAT was lying on top of me?
Instinctively I raised my hand to touch the furry, wriggling object. Already one step ahead of me, Super-Ranger swiftly intercepted my hand mid-air, “Don’t touch it! It’s a baby seal. Just slowly put your hand back down by your side and don’t move.”
I certainly wasn’t going to tangle with her. After all, apparently, I had just broken the Galapagos Islands cardinal rule. Furthermore, proof of my transgression lay stretched out on top of me, flipper-hugging my midsection. The verdict was out. No trial was needed. I was guilty as charged.
Hey! I’m innocent. Maybe the seal thinks I smell like a big, endemic fish. Or maybe it thinks I’m a seal mamma. I call a foul! The seal broke the rule, not me!
I saw myself spending the remainder of my life rotting away, locked in a dark, musty Ecuadorian prison cell, accused of violating the unpardonable cardinal rule - seal touching. I was in trouble - big, big trouble.
I remained frozen in place.
My fate twisted, and the unthinkable happened. Ms. Super-Ranger actually let me off the hook and gave me a pass. She explained that the cardinal rule is not broken if an animal, acting on its own accord, touches a visitor. Whew! I was redeemed! Poof! My Ecuadorian prison thoughts vanished into thin air.
Aside from noting that it is highly unusual for the animals to touch visitors, Super-Ranger could offer no specific explanation for why the fur seal decided to plop itself on top of me and take a siesta.
She cautioned we had to make every effort to minimize my scent on the seal pup. Fur seal mothers tend to abandon pups that have been handled by humans.
Ironically, although there were lots of pictures taken of my seal and me, I don’t have one single photo of us together. I was held hostage until the pup simply rolled off me into the sand, clambered away, and slipped gracefully into the water.
In Ms. Super-Ranger’s professional opinion, the seal pup swam happily back to its real mamma, and they went on their way.
Conclusion:
Our small ship sailed across the equator entering the northern hemisphere at exactly 1:00 AM. Everyone on board cheered as the captain blew the ship’s horn to announce the occasion.
I was so sick I could hardly walk without assistance.
The excursion continued for several more days, exploring the wonderous sights in the Galapagos Islands. However, I was bedridden, taken completely out of the running by my old-time arch enemy - Sea Sickness.
Yes, I tried every sea sickness preventative known to man. And yes, I tried every medication and concoction to tame the nasty infliction. And yes, it still walloped the tar right out of me and left me begging for mercy - only to grant me none. It is a ruthless and formidable foe.
Ironically, the Galapagos Islands are the epitome of “survival of the fittest.” Some animals survive in that environment, and others don’t.
When it comes to traveling by ship, I am completely out of my element. I didn’t survive the voyage well. You might say ships are not a good habitat for me.
I was happy to return to Guayaquil. Remember - the city along the Ecuadorian Pacific Coast where this voyage all began? Thank goodness for solid ground.
Until next time, my friends.
C’mon, Lois, I gotta’ know what that line-green lizard was doing on your toothbrush.
What a wonderful trip you sent ME on as I read this beautiful story. I was just showing Kathie the pictures of your trip to Xilitla, Mexico. That looks so interesting! Very often I dream of living in a tropical area instead of the wet, cold, and windy PNW, but then I think of the stinging and poisonous bugs and say 'nah', a visit would be fine. Those ARE very nice pictures and I appreciate being able to enlarge most of them as well. You write a very good story to go with them.
Car sickness is the same as sea sickness, but did you know inexperienced motorcycle riders can get it too? I would gather you are aware of every 'cure' there is, but just in case you haven't heard of this one, what stops the nausea from happening with riders is to keep the eyes level with the horizon. It is the ear/eye dissonance that creates the confusion and nausea. My first time on Lake Erie made me veeeerrrrry sick. Once I learned the reason why and adjusted my stance, it never bothered me again. I can go on the most radical amusement park ride on a full stomach - no problem.
Just thought I would pass that on. Hope the kitty is doing well. Thank you for the story and take good care.