Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:05 am Post subject: Ecuador & Galapagos
I didnt go crazy with picture taking ...but still ended up with enough to have to sift thru for a while. Decided to resize a few tortoise pics since that was the subject brought up before i left.
Visited Darwin Station ...a research center with a major goal to breed and restore the various giant tortoise subspecies that are on the edge.
Couple images from the station...
a saddleback...
These are from the wild... crazy...free roaming like cows. We were very luck to see so many in the area that we were able to walk around in...
big poo...
_________________
jet trail in the sunset
a long way away
cutting 'cross the horizon
at the edge of the day
and it calls Jimmy
come fly away
but I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
yeah, I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
--James McMurtry
Wow Steven,
those are great. Hey did you notice any hesitation on their part when you guys were around, or were they ok with humans walking around them?
good thing you came back in one piece... _________________ God does not play at dice AE
Just awesome, Steven! Thanks for sharing! _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
Wow Steven,
those are great. Hey did you notice any hesitation on their part when you guys were around, or were they ok with humans walking around them?
good thing you came back in one piece... ::::
_________________
jet trail in the sunset
a long way away
cutting 'cross the horizon
at the edge of the day
and it calls Jimmy
come fly away
but I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
yeah, I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
--James McMurtry
Wow Steven,
those are great. Hey did you notice any hesitation on their part when you guys were around, or were they ok with humans walking around them?
good thing you came back in one piece... ::Laughing::
Most that i approached (...tried to follow the rules , but a few times i allowed myself to get within a couple ft from some) ...didnt care about my presence, though they were definitely aware of me and my distance between them. I did witness/hear a few hissing (like low pitched zombie) at a couple clumsy visitors that didnt catch on to the fact that they werent at the Disney Walk Right Up Like Lifes a Big Fun Fantasy Touching Zoo.
These (above)that are in the wild are free-roaming on a cattle ranch. Cow space was limited and fenced off ...infact the only fences I saw were for the cows and some along the roads within the reserve. The reserve is part of the overall national park protecting the Galapagos and though i cant recall the sq.miles.. it is a huge range touched only(mostly) by tortoises and other native wild life. These were are males. (all huge.. age ranging 70 to 90 ys old) From what i gather, most visitors dont see this many there ...we were lucky. In fact, our guide said that the week before they only spotted two. Important fact ...these are all endemic to this Island ...Santa Cruz and they are not supported, fed nor manipulated by humans. Only a select few are numbered and tracked and its estimated that there is a population of around 300 on the island. If one wanders all the way into town ...thats what its allowed to do ...they try and steer it back into the woods, but thats about it. Thats important since understanding of their migration and needs there of is limited and surely very complex depending on environmental conditions each year. Female migration and egglaying is specific ...even were many go to die ..its their island and they've been doing it for a long time.
A bit more of Darwin Station...
Darwin Station ...you guys/gals that are walking the biological/environmental scientific path and attending university SHOULD research what it takes to volunteer there. Credit for collage + life changing experience ..nuff said...ya know what you need to do.
Puerto Ayora...
Sarena and i walked in past the tourist trap street along the shore and into the town a bit ..fishes out of water ..3rd world poor but fascinating and beautiful.
Darwin Station entry and main house...
Darwin Station tortoise breeding center...
Each island that has a tortoise population has its own sub-species. One pair was taken from each island. ...Only one pair. The young tortoises are released back to its corresponding island after five years raised in captivity. If all goes well for them, in another 30-40 years they (hopefully) can/will produce offspring. World wide laws allowed Darwin Station to ask for/demand the return of giant tortoises ...zoos, restaurants/theme parks, pets, etc.. from all corners of the world. The genetic mapping of some of these returns has started ...it takes a lot of cash and up to 5 years of lab time. Egg production from these unknowns happens, but hybrids are completely prohibited and the eggs are used only for research ...never allowed to hatch. The hope though..is to find out what subspecies they do have in these returns and to possibly utilize some for further breeding ...especially for a few subspecies that are in the most dire state. The most interesting... a special case ...What would it be like to be the very last of your kind? ...ask Lonely George! They went to find a pair, but ONLY found George.
Lonely George...not coming out for pics that day...
anyway.. look up Lonely George ...hes an interesting case indeed.
Young...
Some of the returned tortoises...
Breeding pair... i think...
Some saddle backs...
A small program was started to breed land iguanas ...heres one of the pretty buggers...
_________________
jet trail in the sunset
a long way away
cutting 'cross the horizon
at the edge of the day
and it calls Jimmy
come fly away
but I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
yeah, I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
--James McMurtry
wow this pics are so amazing thanks for sharing them _________________ I adopt tarantulas, scorpions, trapdoor spiders and tortoise. .....Web of sorrow ... (by Trentea Sebastian) The darkest corner of the room Was bound to be my home. Abandoned, feeling only gloom, I cry 8 tears, alone.
I am sooo jealous right now. That is totally my dream vacation! Thank you so much for sharing the pics. Amazing creatures. _________________ Mommy loves her little Monsters.
Baltra Island...
Ok.. this is the 1st island MOST visitors see because it has the international airport. Just a fairly short runway cut across a Mars(ish), mostly unpopulated island. They shove ya on a bus.. haul you down to a bay and bring you out to a ship/boat via inflatable dingy.
EDIT: Bartolome Island
Our cruise then sailed to Bartolome island where there is a tour allowed beach and a hike. Because of flight delays we were given the choice of swim/snorkel at the beach or hike up to the crater of the island. The hike looked like a drag (boring wooden ramp/stair all the way up) so we opted for some snorkeling.
Sun was starting to go down creating very shady waters next to the cliffs ...didnt put on me wetsuit ...got cold, but the scene under water and along/under the cliffs was amazing. Swimmin with SO many different fish, rays, sea lions etc..
No underwater photo set-up ...so nil pics of whats REALLY the Galapagos ...nor did i take my camera on this 1st excursion ...but lucky Sarena had her little camera and shot some great pics.
Penguins..
Sleepy boy...
Snorkeling under the cliff and within/under these rocks was amazing...
_________________
jet trail in the sunset
a long way away
cutting 'cross the horizon
at the edge of the day
and it calls Jimmy
come fly away
but I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
yeah, I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
--James McMurtry
Last edited by Steven on Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
So weird to think of penguins at the equator! _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
Although all penguin species are native to the southern hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin actually live so far south. At least 10[verification needed] species live in the temperate zone; one, the Galápagos Penguin, lives as far north as the Galápagos Islands, but this is only made possible by the cold, rich waters of the Antarctic Humboldt Current which flows around these islands.[28]
Major populations of penguins are found in: Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand.[29]
_________________
jet trail in the sunset
a long way away
cutting 'cross the horizon
at the edge of the day
and it calls Jimmy
come fly away
but I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
yeah, I've been
too long in the wasteland
too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay
--James McMurtry
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thanks for sharing them
