Galapagos Land Iguana

Today we have have the last of the land iguana as we prepare to leave South Plaza Island. I'm pretty sure that this partial creature in the foreground is a sea lion.

Lava Gull and Galapagos Land Iguana

Some of these animals seem to be a strange hodgepodge of adaptations. The laval gull is colored nicely to match the laval where it nests, but them has pink/orange/red feet! Go figure. On the other hand, the small crab on the rock just below the gull does a great job of blending in with the background.

Land Iguana, Blue-Footed Boobie, and Lava Gull

These iguana are indeed striking creatures. I'm quite sure that if these fellows were not herbivores, I'd not be so close to them.

Land Iguanas and Lava Lizards

The image above seems to summarize much of the Galapagos: a land iguana, a laval lizard, and a chunk of lava. 

South PLaza Island - III

South Plaza Island is not limited to providing habitat only to Galapagos land iguana, here we also find birds. Here is a small ground finch.

South Plaza Island - II

The land iguanas are everywhere there is a bit of shade on this small island. Most of that shade is under a prickly pear cactus which these fellow love to eat.

South Plaza Island

On this day we took a boat ride around Santa Cruz to the small South Plaza island (not far from the North Plaza Island) to see the animals there. We transferred from the boat to a zodiac to head into the shore. when we arrived, there was a "swarm" of sea lions frollicking in the water beside where the boat docked.