The Animals of Floreana and Fernandina Islands Dazzle Arnot

By Melissa Arnot

The sunshine is gone this morning as we head out to Floreana Island. After stepping into the chilly morning water, I feel compelled to stay there on the shore and wait for the penguins. Carlitos, our naturalist, tells me that we may see penguins but we must be patient. I have gotten a little too used to the idea of wildlife on demand, and I find myself wandering around the shore, chasing a beautiful yellow warbler. He is contrasted against the black lava rocks, he just cannot hide from me. As I chase him, I see the mouth to a lava cave with stairs entering the earth. Apparently this island was home to early pirates and whalers. The cave only goes about 20 feet down, and by now I have lost the little bird. As I journey back to the zodiac, Carlitos is jumping up and down and yelling for me to come over. I rush to his side and see the surprisingly tiny penguin. Maybe reading Dave Hahn’s post from Antarctica has fooled me into thinking that penguins are always large and tuxedo-wearing, but these are small (and actually they kind of just look like gray ducks). I am excited nonetheless.

The afternoon takes us to a lagoon where there is a small colony of flamingos. Again, I feel like this is a cartoon. Are there really animals that are this pink? Really? I guess so, and they are beautiful, though I have to admit that flamingo habitat doesn’t really smell very good. We journey a bit off the beaten path and find ourselves on a beautiful white sandy shore with two sea turtles mating in the water. As I wade out to get a closer look at these ocean beasts, I feel something brush my leg. The water ebbs back out to sea and I discover what it is… one of about 20 stingrays covering the shallow sand embankment! I let out a larger shriek as Carlitos tells me to hold still (right, because that is an option). I jump quickly back to the dry sand, laughing at my own response. Carlitos laughs as he skeptically asked me about the dangers of mountain climbing. Steve Irwin wrestled crocodiles and he was defeated by a sting ray, I have my reasons (and mountains don’t sting you or hide in the sand!).

After calming myself about the stingrays, and being reassured that I would be safe today, we head out to Fernandina Island. The first things I notice here are the mounds of unevenly formed lava. Upon closer inspection, I can see that they are not, in fact, only lava, but mounds of marine iguanas! They are piled on top of one another with sally lightfoot crabs crawling all over them. I refrain from shrieking (I am getting used to them now and in fact start to adore them). Someone else is shrieking though. As I look around trying to find who it is, I see a tiny three-week-old sea lion. He is the size of a house cat and shrieking in a loud, high pitch. Then comes the lower growl of his mother. Suddenly, he starts trying to waddle (if you would call it that) through the jungle to the small bay where his mother is. his might be the cutest thing I have ever seen. His chest muscles aren’t very strong, and he can only take one or two steps before collapsing on his belly and resting for 15 seconds. As he approaches the water, the shriek is a fever pitch and he flops into the water, quickly and sloppily. After a moment of uncoordinated swimming, he reemerges. Carlitos tells me he doesn’t know how to swim yet. So far, this is my very favorite animal in the Galapagos!