North Seymour Islet and Santa Cruz Island
Dawn broke as we pulled into the “North Channel” that separates the tiny islet of North Seymour from the larger Baltra Island. We dropped anchor and rose bright and early to visit the islet, which although small, is one of the wildlife highs of the trip! Most of us took a couple of different walk options leading through the coastal and arid zones of Seymour, and had unforgettable encounters such as blue-footed boobies performing their famed courtship ritual by showing first one turquoise foot to their prospective mates, then the other! In the endemic Bursera trees that cover the island, we came across the brilliant red pouches of the male frigate birds, fully inflated to attract the females flying overhead, whilst some couples were significantly further on in their breeding cycle, already caring for large downy chicks. Nesting and courting swallow-tailed gulls milled around the cliff edge, side-stepping curious young Galápagos sea lion pups, whilst some of the older sea lions played in the large waves just of the shore. Some of us preferred to explore the area by a Zodiac cruise along the coastline, where, amongst many of the above-mentioned creatures, we also had fantastic views of the endemic Galápagos fur seals, including many females nursing tiny big-eared and big-eyed pups – definitely a highlight for me, as these animals are usually pretty elusive, hidden amongst nooks and crannies on rocky shores.
North Seymour also allowed us our first encounters with the famed “Dragons of the Galápagos,” the land iguanas. The Galápagos land iguanas are the largest iguanas in the world, and are endemic. They are beautiful animals, yellow in colour and wise in expression, but unfortunately, they are ecologically innocent like all inhabitants of the Galápagos, and have suffered tremendously at the hand of humans and their invasive species, cats and dogs in particular. This particular population was saved by a fortuitous act on behalf of American millionaire and amateur scientist, Alan Hancock, who in the 1930s transferred some of the native iguanas of Baltra Island to the tiny Seymour where iguanas had previously been lacking, as an experiment. During World War II, an American airbase was set up on Baltra (previously known as South Seymour) and the land iguana of the island was wiped out, mainly due to predation by the air base dogs. This situation has largely been reversed by an important captive breeding and repatriation program that used the population transferred by Hancock as seed stock, bringing back the Baltra population from the brink of extinction. This important, ongoing project is particularly dear to those of us onboard the Islander, as funds from the Lindblad Expeditions Galápagos Conservation Fund are keeping the program going – and we have been able to adopt these wonderful, endemic creatures.
After lunch, we circumnavigated a tuff cone named Daphne Major, witness to important research in evolution, then departed once more either by foot or Zodiac to explore the northwestern corner of Santa Cruz Island. We topped off yet another wonderful day by jumping into the ocean off the Islander to cool off, then enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the central archipelago.
Dawn broke as we pulled into the “North Channel” that separates the tiny islet of North Seymour from the larger Baltra Island. We dropped anchor and rose bright and early to visit the islet, which although small, is one of the wildlife highs of the trip! Most of us took a couple of different walk options leading through the coastal and arid zones of Seymour, and had unforgettable encounters such as blue-footed boobies performing their famed courtship ritual by showing first one turquoise foot to their prospective mates, then the other! In the endemic Bursera trees that cover the island, we came across the brilliant red pouches of the male frigate birds, fully inflated to attract the females flying overhead, whilst some couples were significantly further on in their breeding cycle, already caring for large downy chicks. Nesting and courting swallow-tailed gulls milled around the cliff edge, side-stepping curious young Galápagos sea lion pups, whilst some of the older sea lions played in the large waves just of the shore. Some of us preferred to explore the area by a Zodiac cruise along the coastline, where, amongst many of the above-mentioned creatures, we also had fantastic views of the endemic Galápagos fur seals, including many females nursing tiny big-eared and big-eyed pups – definitely a highlight for me, as these animals are usually pretty elusive, hidden amongst nooks and crannies on rocky shores.
North Seymour also allowed us our first encounters with the famed “Dragons of the Galápagos,” the land iguanas. The Galápagos land iguanas are the largest iguanas in the world, and are endemic. They are beautiful animals, yellow in colour and wise in expression, but unfortunately, they are ecologically innocent like all inhabitants of the Galápagos, and have suffered tremendously at the hand of humans and their invasive species, cats and dogs in particular. This particular population was saved by a fortuitous act on behalf of American millionaire and amateur scientist, Alan Hancock, who in the 1930s transferred some of the native iguanas of Baltra Island to the tiny Seymour where iguanas had previously been lacking, as an experiment. During World War II, an American airbase was set up on Baltra (previously known as South Seymour) and the land iguana of the island was wiped out, mainly due to predation by the air base dogs. This situation has largely been reversed by an important captive breeding and repatriation program that used the population transferred by Hancock as seed stock, bringing back the Baltra population from the brink of extinction. This important, ongoing project is particularly dear to those of us onboard the Islander, as funds from the Lindblad Expeditions Galápagos Conservation Fund are keeping the program going – and we have been able to adopt these wonderful, endemic creatures.
After lunch, we circumnavigated a tuff cone named Daphne Major, witness to important research in evolution, then departed once more either by foot or Zodiac to explore the northwestern corner of Santa Cruz Island. We topped off yet another wonderful day by jumping into the ocean off the Islander to cool off, then enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the central archipelago.
