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 travellers; 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.