Birth, Death and Survival in the Galapagos

Saturday. Our last full day in the Galapagos. And Santa Cruz Island, where Puerto Ayora is the main settlement in the Galapagos. A chance to go up to the Highlands to try to see tortoises, and a visit to the Darwin Station. Also the opportunity to do a bit of shopping or internet in town over lunch if you desire.

Beware, however, of one thing. While we had fairly calm seas all week, with only a couple rough nights, the night before we landed in Puerto Ayora was difficult because of significant rolling action of the ship. Not because of the seas while we were underway, but once we anchored outside the harbor. From what I could gather from the crew, this is fairly common, as there are two different currents which cross in the anchoring zone, and as the tides change, the ship gets buffeted pretty heavily. I spent the night bracing myself in bed, and I know I wasn’t the only one who had to work not to get tossed out.

I opted to go to Darwin Station early in the morning. I had heard that “Lonely George” was often more active in the morning, and I wanted to see the celebrity tortoise, reportedly the last of his species.

As we walked into the Station in the early morning, our Cruise Director Jason was our group’s naturalist and was explaining further about the activities and research of the station, when suddenly we were brought up short by another example of the rawness and basic nature of the Galapagos. In the path in front of us were two eggs, which had either been pushed out of the nest, or had been grabbed out by some predator. Both were cracked open. One wasn’t very well developed, and mostly looked like a regular egg with yolk broken open. But the other chick was almost full-grown, though not quite ready to hatch on its own. The baby had crawled away from the remnants of the egg, and was struggling to survive, even though it was obvious he was dying. It was highly emotional to watch. Some in our group wanted to put him out of his pain, but Jason wouldn’t let us. He reminded us this was part of the cycle, and that perhaps the chick would serve as food to a predator, and if we killed it, we would be removing that opportunity for anything other than a scavenger who ate carrion.

Several of us cried at this sight. Yes, it was just a chick. But to watch its struggle, trying so hard to find a way to survive, and know that there was nothing we could or should do, touched deeply. I declined to take a picture, as I felt that was too personal and too intrusive… and a bit too macabre. But the image of that tiny baby, without feathers or fluff, completely helpless, struggling along the path, will be with me forever, and along with all the triumphant moments and beauty, will be part of my Galapagos memory.

It’s part of the reason I say the Galapagos affected me not just emotionally, but also intellectually. You get hit by these moments. It’s not a trip for the squeamish, but it is a trip for those who want to see something more real than a zoo, more personal than a day trip or view from a ship. Your opinions about right or wrong in the natural world get challenged if you let them. It changes you.

But back to the Station. There’s a lot of fun here. You get to see the tortoises from quite young in group pens (separated by species) to the very old in their own habitats. Some are wandering around the paths, others are in closed pens. They do active breeding here, to return the tortoises to their native islands when possible, or to conserve the species until their numbers are sufficient to consider repatriation, or until the hazards on their native islands are removed. Each island has a different species which is endemic to that island. The differences are seen in their shells primarily. Those which live in the brush have high domed shells to push through the underbrush. Those living in the highlands have high arches in the front of their shells and very long necks, all the better to reach up into the trees to graze. Darwin did note some of these differences, but they really didn’t play as much a factor in his writings about the islands as did the birds.

Some very young tortoises.


A highland species – note the high neck arch in the shell.


Faces a mother could love.


You can see why these tortoises were the model for “ET”


We were in luck this morning – Lonesome George was out and active, along with his two female “companions” from similar species.


After years of presuming that George was impotent, even though he mounted the females, it has recently been announced that eggs have been found in the pen in three different nests. They are being incubated, and it’s believed at least some are fertile. While these would not be pure bred of his species, it is a start to preserving his line. With selective breeding, it is hoped a version of his species will continue. In addition, the search for a species-match mate for him continues. One may still exist in a private collection.

After the tour through the grounds, we were set free, to explore further, walk through town, return to the ship if we wished for lunch, or stay in town and await the afternoon groups. Those who did the Darwin Station in the morning could then go up to the Highlands in the afternoon, and those who did the Highlands in the morning would have the Darwin Station in the afternoon. No need to choose between the options today!

The Highlands tour involves a bit of a bus ride (about 30 minutes) up to a “farm” where a hike through sometimes muddy grounds brings the possibility of tortoise sightings. As the name implies, these are truly high lands, with a very different cooler and lush climate. Part of that is the frequent mists in the mountains, hence the muddy grounds. In addition, there’s a lava tube which can be walked through.

Back to the ship to pack and prepare to leave. Before dinner was a farewell toast from the Captain, while afterwards there was a folkloric show put on by the crew.

Speaking of the Captain, I don’t think I’ve mentioned another great feature of being on a ship this size – there’s an open bridge! Except when anchoring, the bridge is available to the passengers. The officers will explain about the navigation, equipment and handling of the ship to anyone interested. I just love that on a ship!

Obviously, we’re nearing the end of the end of these Galapagos blogs. There are two more installments to go, which will be published next week. If there’s anything you’d like me to address, or questions you have, feel free to email me this weekend. You can reach me at amber@cruiseresource.com. After several of you have requested it, I’m also going to open up comments so you can make comments to the blog itself.

Thanks for staying with me this long!