Galapagos wildlife

The Galapagos Islands have fascinated zoologists, biologists and wildlife lovers ever since Darwin landed here in 1835 and began to document their extraordinary natural history. A volcanic archipelago over 1,000km from mainland South America, these rocky islands are a kind of wildlife laboratory, evidence of evolution in action, where cormorants have lost the ability to fly, and iguanas have learned how to swim. But it’s not just these curious traits that appeal so much to modern travelers; it’s the animals’ indifference to their human visitors that makes a trip to these islands so astonishing. With no natural predators, there is no need for fear, and walking past colonies of sea lions, snorkelling with penguins or watching a blue footed booby waddle right past you are encounters that never fail to thrill.

We’ve picked our top Galapagos wildlife species to whet your appetite.

Sunbathing on the rocky beaches, these streamlined marine mammals bark out a noisy greeting to their visitors. They’re inquisitive, sociable and surprisingly huge – at over two metres long and weighing over 200kg. They inhabit every island in the Galapagos, as well as mainland Ecuador’s Pacific coast. The tiny pups are born from May through to January – which means they can be seen all year round; as soon as the pups are weaned the mothers will give birth again.

Their red and black mottle skins look half toasted by the equatorial sun, and their spike-lined spines give them something of a prehistoric air. Indeed, it is believed that marine iguanas reached the Galapagos Islands millions of years ago, after having drifted 1,000km across the sea on bits of driftwood.

While some of the descendants of these seafaring reptilians remained land dwelling, others evolved into marine iguanas – developing unique adaptations which allowed them to thrive in these Pacific waters. They feed on seaweed and algae, which they scrape from rocks with their sharp teeth. Their flattened tails let them move efficiently through the ocean, and their dark skin – unlike the lighter, land iguanas – ensures they are able to warm up quickly after spending time in the chilly water. You’ll encounter marine iguanas on all the islands of the Galapagos, with subspecies evolving on each. Look out for these “imps of darkness”, as Charles Darwin called them, expelling salt from their nostrils as they warm up on the shore.

The largest species of tortoise, one of the longest lived animals in the world and one of the least widely distributed, giant tortoises live on just seven of these islands, yet are the Galapagos’s most easily recognisable inhabitant.

Once the islands were discovered by Europeans in the 1500s, the tortoises – which previously had no natural predators once they reached maturity – were slaughtered for their meat and oil, while their habitat was destroyed to make way for farms.

These amusing little characters waddle around these islands on their surreally blue feet, which seem strangely oversized for their bodies. Visitors who arrive in May, June or July may be treated to the male boobies’ mating dance, during which he raises one foot and then the other in front of his chosen female.

It is rather odd to witness penguins – so associated with Antarctic climes – on these equatorial islands, but the chilly Humboldt Current brings more suitable water temperatures to the archipelago, and the penguins spend most of the day sheltering in the water, escaping the sun. Their eggs are hidden in caves and rocky crevasses for the same reason. Galapagos penguins are a diminutive 50cm tall, the second smallest in the world, and are most commonly encountered on Isabela and Fernandina Islands. Sadly, these are also the rarest penguins in the world, which makes swimming alongside them – even for just a few fleeting seconds – all the more special.