Galápagos Islands

They were once called the Enchanted Isles. The way they appeared and disappeared in the fog made early sailors think the islands might be floating in air. Strong ocean currents made sailing near them dangerous. And when sailors did manage to come ashore, they found marvelous plants and animals that lived nowhere else on Earth.

Today we call them the Galápagos Islands. Not many people live on the Galápagos. There isn't enough fresh water for them to drink. So for all these years plants and animals have thrived, undisturbed by humans. Today, scientists from around the world come to the Galápagos to study. They have learned a lot about how plants and animals grow and change in different environments.

Galápagos means "tortoise" in Spanish. And giant tortoises are probably the most famous animals on the islands. They can grow to be almost five feet tall and weigh 600 pounds! Scientists think that long ago there was probably only one kind of tortoise on the islands. Today there are ten kinds, but they all fall into two basic groups. Each is specially suited for the landscape in which it lives.

The Galápagos are also home to two kinds of lizards that live nowhere else on Earth. Land iguanas thrive on the hot, dry lava landscapes away from the shoreline. Their favorite food is cactuswhich also thrives on hot, dry islands!

Marine iguanas are the only lizards in the world that swim and dive for food. They have flatter tails to help them swim better, and flatter noses to help them nibble tiny algae growing on rocks underwater. And the white stuff on their heads? Sea salt they've sneezed out!

Cormorants first flew to the Galápagos millions of years ago, on big, strong wings. But there were no enemies to fly away from on the islands, and all the fish they could eat were just offshore. Over many thousands of years, the cormorants7 wings grew small and weak. Today, Galápagos flightless cormorants can no longer fly-but they are excellent divers!

Galápagos swallow-tailed gulls have red-rimmed eyes that glow in the dark. They are the only gulls that can see at night. Millions of years ago, these gulls hunted during the day. But big, black-winged frigate birds kept stealing the fish right out of the gulls' beaks. Today the gulls hunt at night-when the frigate birds don't bother them. The white spot on their beaks makes it easier for their chicks to feed in the dark.

Growing, changing, adapting-animals on the Galápagos are unlike animals any place else on Earth!

Copyright Carus Publishing Company Nov/Dec 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved