Galápagos wildlife
Wildlife of the Galápagos archipelago / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Galápagos Islands are located off the west coast of South America straddling the equator. The Galápagos are located at the confluence of several currents including the cold Humboldt Current traveling north from South America and the Panama Current traveling south from Central America make the islands cooler and provide the perfect environment for the unique mix of wildlife that inhabits the islands.
These islands are volcanic in origin and were never attached to any continent. Galapagos wildlife arrived here in one of three ways: flying, floating or swimming. Birds might have flown there by accident and decided to settle there due to favourable conditions. Mammals or reptiles might have floated on a piece of wood and drifted to the islands. Some animals like marine iguanas, might have swum there. Where in most environments larger mammals are normally the predators at the top of the food chain, these animals were unable to survive the journey. Thus the giant Galápagos tortoise became the largest land animal on the islands, and due to the lack of natural predators, the wildlife in the Galápagos is known for being extremely tame without instinctual fear.[1]
The Galápagos Islands are noted as a home to a large number of endemic species. The stark rocky islands (many with few plants) made it necessary for many species need to adapt to survive here and by doing so evolving into new endemic species. It was after visiting the Galápagos and studying the endemic wildlife that inhabit the islands that a young Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution.[2]