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In November, Collin Swan and his new bride embarked upon a dream honeymoon, a Galapagos cruise with Natural Habitat Adventures. They commemorated the voyage by putting together this charming and very professional video, which features a ton of really spectacular wildlife footage.
This photo of a veritable forest of Opuntia cacti (Opuntia echios), also known as the Galapagos prickly pear, was taken on the coast of Santa Cruz by Dallas Krentzel.
One of the reasons that the Galapagos Islands are at, or at least near, the top of many a wildlife lover’s travel bucket list is that the animals show little or no fear of humans. Galapagos sea lion pups are particularly gregarious and will often try to sidle up next to tourists relaxing on the beach.
The Galapagos Islands are justifiably renowned for the many strange and wondrous creatures that soar, slither and crawl here, and only here. Understandably, the archipelago’s endemic terrestial species are its most famous: giant tortoises, marine iguanas, Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, and the like. Yet there are plenty of equally fascinating, unique-to-the-Galapagos creatures just below the ocean’s surface.
This remarkable photo of the Galapagos Islands was taken on October 28th, 2010 from the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft, which was docked to the international space station, 220 miles above the Earth.
Last week, we featured a story about the financial crisis that the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) is facing and urged our readers to support a fundraising campaign that is being spearheaded by the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA).
This striking specimen was photographed on the island of Española. Marine iguanas are only found in the Galapagos Islands and are a fairly common sight throughout the archipelago. They are usually seen basking on black, volcanic rocks near the shoreline.
A few weeks ago, the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) announced that it was facing a year-end budgetary crisis and that it need to raise $1 million to avoid the possibility of having to close its doors for good. Since then, there has been an outpouring of international support and things are looking up.
Darwin’s “On the Origin of the Species” kicked off a Galapagos publishing craze over 150 years ago. Since then, dozens and dozens of volumes showcasing and celebrating the natural history and wildlife of the islands have hit the shelves. The 500-year long human history in the islands, on the other hand, has been largely (though not completely) ignored.
Late last week we learned that the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), which is operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation, may close permanently by the end of the year due to a financial shortfall and an ongoing feud with the municipality of Puerto Ayora, where it is located.
The Galapagos Islands will always be associated, first and foremost, with Darwin’s theory of natural selection and the unique creatures that inspired it. But certain chapters of the islands’ often-overlooked human history are nearly as fascinating.
If you are interested in the Galapagos Islands, curious or concerned about climate change, or just love great writing about nature, run (don’t walk), to pick up the November/December issue of Audubon Magazine. Or, if you don’t feel like running, just keep reading and click on the links below.
