Genovesa Island
Today is our last day in the Galapagos. We disembarked on a coraline beach where we saw birds every where. Many people call this island “the Island of Birds”. We didn’t have to walk very far to enjoy the beauty of Genovesa. Some of our guests were interested in seeing the Darwin’s finches and in particular the vampire or sharp billed ground finch. These birds drink blood of the Nazca boobies, hence the name.
After the walk, some of us chose to snorkel below the cliffs in the deep water. It was a fantastic snorkel outing because the water was very clear and we saw many fish. Some of us had the opportunity to swim with hammerhead sharks and a very large ray, a devil’s manta ray. These rays can reach sizes of 14 feet across. All of these creatures are part of the marine food chain. Some of them, like the rays, feed on plankton and others, like the sharks, are predators.
Today we found another strange looking marine species, a desiccated sea horse (see the picture). These creatures are rarely seen in Galapagos. A male sea horse can do what most other male animals can’t: he “gives birth”. The male has an incubation pocket on the underside of his tail. With their bellies together, the female sprays about 200 eggs into the male’s brood pocket. He is then in charge of carrying the eggs for about four weeks, until the swimming, independent little sea horses are born. Wow! Life is not carefree and simple for a male sea horse!
Today is our last day in the Galapagos. We disembarked on a coraline beach where we saw birds every where. Many people call this island “the Island of Birds”. We didn’t have to walk very far to enjoy the beauty of Genovesa. Some of our guests were interested in seeing the Darwin’s finches and in particular the vampire or sharp billed ground finch. These birds drink blood of the Nazca boobies, hence the name.
After the walk, some of us chose to snorkel below the cliffs in the deep water. It was a fantastic snorkel outing because the water was very clear and we saw many fish. Some of us had the opportunity to swim with hammerhead sharks and a very large ray, a devil’s manta ray. These rays can reach sizes of 14 feet across. All of these creatures are part of the marine food chain. Some of them, like the rays, feed on plankton and others, like the sharks, are predators.
Today we found another strange looking marine species, a desiccated sea horse (see the picture). These creatures are rarely seen in Galapagos. A male sea horse can do what most other male animals can’t: he “gives birth”. The male has an incubation pocket on the underside of his tail. With their bellies together, the female sprays about 200 eggs into the male’s brood pocket. He is then in charge of carrying the eggs for about four weeks, until the swimming, independent little sea horses are born. Wow! Life is not carefree and simple for a male sea horse!
