frigates & boobies... oh my!
NO. OF ISLANDS:19
POPULATION: 25,000
*dragons not included
Iguanas were just the beginning of the
wildlife parade we found in the Galapagos. From lusty male frigate birds
puffing out their balloon-like chests in
hopes of attracting a mate, to bright
red and blue-footed boobies (stop
snickering…they had feathers) to the
giant, lumbering Galapagos tortoises,
we encountered an incredible collection
of creatures we could never have seen
anywhere else. We soon understood
why Charles Darwin’s voyage there
in 1831 was the inspiration for his
world-shaking “The Origin of Species”.
After weeks of observation, Darwin
noted that the finches on various
islands in the Galapagos had developed different beaks to enable them to
deal with their particular landscapes.
His observations of the giant tortoises
also revealed vast differences - their
shells were shaped differently from
one island to another, allowing them
to thrive where they lived. The conclusions he drew formed the basis for his
book - and resulted in his condemnation
by both the church and the scientific
community he’d hoped to impress. How
dare he suggest that creatures evolved
to suit their environments rather than
being the wholesale creations of the
Almighty? Aboard the Silver Galapa-
22 | whiteoaksclub.com | fall 2015
gos, a world-renowned naturalist
helped us to understand the science
behind Darwin’s discoveries. Slowly,
we began to see what he saw.
We spent hours trying to photograph
the wonders around us. One day, I was
crouching to get a shot of an incredible bird on her nest, just a few inches
from the rocky pathw ^K