An Animal Diary Special: Galapagos Part 2

I asked a member of our boat crew what it is like to be from the Galapagos. He said that for him seeing a turtle was just so boring and he found it funny how excited we all were. I’d love to get to the point where seeing one of the incredible creatures of these islands bored me because then I wouldn’t miss it so much.

I seem to have inspired at least 8 people from the UK to travel to Ecuador and go to the Galapagos… most notably my parents, who are going this weekend. I am really jealous so I thought I would finally get on with posting a few more pictures from my time there to try and cheer myself up. Here’s part 2 of my animal diary…

Fur Seals

Fur seals are seen less in Galapagos. There are lots of them, but they tend to hang out in places where tourists don’t go as much. We went to Puerto Egas on Santiago Island to see this beautiful bunch. The sunset there is also highly recommended…

Fur seal, Galapagos — The fur seal may be seen slightly less in the Galapagos, but they can still pull a super cute pose when you do catch them with your camera.

Roaring Fur Sea Lion — You can tell the difference between a fur sea lion and a normal sea lion partly by looking at their ears. The fur sea lions ear are more prominent. They still roar like any sea lion though…

Baby fur sea lion, Galapagos — The fur sea lion also has eyes that bulge more too, adding to their cute factor, especially when in baby suckling form.

Frigate Birds

I like the fact that one of the species of frigates that can be found in the Galapagos are called the ‘Magnificent Frigate Bird’. This seems a very fitting name given what incredible colour the males bring to the scenery. We went to North Seymour island very early in the morning to see these Magnificent birds working on creating new families…

Horny Frigate Bird, Galapagos — This is the start of the mating process. The males expand their red throats and wait until a lady frigate captures their imagination. Once she is in his eye, he will start flapping his wings about to get her attention. It’s all about size in the frigate world and the bigger your big red thing the better from a females point of view. I think when they are sat in this stance, they look so uncomfortable and desperately hopeful…. hope this one found a special friend.

Horny frigate bird 2, Galapagos — Please love me…

Lady Frigate, Galapagos — This is one lady frigate bird that obviously was attracted by another’s big red thing as she is on her nest. There is no sign of her impressive boyfriend, but they share nesting duties so I’m sure he’ll be back shortly.

Frigate love, Galapagos — This is some frigate love in action. The male has been wibbling his wings and the lady just couldn’t resist…

Frigate baby time, Galapagos — Soon they will have one of these little fluffy bundles of cuteness. I think this is a male looking after the baby, and you can see how tiny that red thing normally looks. Pretty disappointing to wake up to the next day…

Cruella Deville frigate bird, Galapagos — Soon the baby will grow up into a fashion diva and start demanding to wear Cruella Deville style coats like this style icon…

Flying Frigate, Galapagos — Then later in adulthood, it will be just like all the boys… flying around with it’s red thing out again. This one continually followed our boat around, hoping to steal a bit of fish.

Frigate sunrise, Galapagos — The lady keeps a look out for the next big red thing to catch her eye… and so the cycle continues.

Lizards

They might be small, but take a moment to look closely and the little lizards that are darting about the islands are crazy looking. I think these all come under the category of Lava Lizard, although get in touch if you know any different…?

Lizard, Galapagos — Look down at the rocks and this is where you will spot several of these little fellas – as long as you are quick as they will scamper off faster than you can make a camera click.

Lava Lizard, Galapagos — They come in several colours. This one is particularly lava-like in my opinion.

Close up lava lizard, Galapagos — Look closer and the scales on these creatures create beautiful patterns.

Lizard on Rabida Island — This was on Rabida Island, where the ground is red and the lizard colours stand out a mile. Anything you see under the water here stands out very brightly also against the red rocks.

Lizard, Isabella island, Galapagos — This lizard wanted to be a giant tortoise as they get photographed more. He was hanging out at the Breeding Centre on Isabela island. I tried to make him feel better by taking a few model shots.

Boobies!!!

Galapagos is probably the only place in the world you can walk around with a t-shirt on that says ‘I love boobies’ and not seem like a weirdo or a pervert. On these isles, the boobies referred to are either blue-footed, red footed or Nazca Boobies. I only saw the blue footed variety when I was there (excuse to go back and see the red footed ones I think?), and they probably have my favourite mating dance of all animals that I have actually witnessed.