GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, ECUADOR - APRIL 2007
Page 5 of 9 - Link to Page 6 at bottom of this page
Bottle-nose dolphins next to the panga boat (dinghy) - not indigenous to Galapagos,
but frequent visitors. They frequently ride the bow of boats.
Its name stems from the short beak.
The dorsal fin is high and
strongly back curved. They generally travel in groups, often 20
or 30 strong. They often leap well clear of the water, sometimes
landing on their sides.
Here's one landing on its side. We saw a large bunch of them swimming around us for quite a while. Also
saw some another time swimming in front of our boat.
The bottle-nosed feature is evident here with these two dolphins swimming by.
Galapagos Penguin - The cool Humboldt Current flowing from Antarctica enables the Galapagos Penguin,
the most northerly penguin in the world, to live here. Breeding can occur year round. It's a flightless bird,
one of 5 endemic seabirds
in the islands. They were very speedy in the water, and we did see them speeding
by
while we were snorkelling.
El Nino events and introduced species make
the Galapagos Penguins endangered.
Young Penguins with a Sally Lightfoot Crab in the background
A flightless cormorant drying its wings after coming out of the water
Pat, Shirley, Heather, and Margaret at a panoramic viewpoint on Isabela Island
Another sunset with an unusual shape to the sun
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