Cathy and Ed Visit South America 2017

The Charles Darwin Research Center -- home of the Charles Darwin Foundation as well as many ongoing research projects -- was founded in 1959 on the island of Santa Cruz. (To explain the above photo, FitzRoy was the pilot of the HMS Beagle, Darwin's ship.) The research center has interpretative exhibits that are fairly minor and disappointing. But they are heavily involved with land tortoise hatchling programs, and their outside exhibits are astonishing. Here is a video of one enclosure, featuring some baby tortoises that are being hatched here before getting released into the wild. The researchers also maintain tortoise counts on how many tortoises they have raised and released onto each island in the Galapagos. The tortoise "pens" replicate some natural environment elements so that the hatchlings can eventually learn to find food on their own. We had seen a rat earlier in the week on a hike, but had been told that there were no rats on the isla

Our first full day in the Galapagos were spent in nonstop drizzle -- not that we are complaining! In our first morning, we went to The Highlands -- the hilly part in the center of Santa Cruz island. In the afternoon, we took a bay cruise (see another post); but after the fact learned that it rains every afternoon in town, so we quickly learned to change the way we divided up our days. On this trip to the highlands, our first stop was Rancho Primicias -- a private ranch that opens up a portion of its land to tourists who wish to see giant land tortoises up close. The land tortoises like this particular ranch because of the abundance of fruit trees - when the fruit drops, the tortoises make their way over (eventually) to dine. Fully grown, these tortoises can weigh up to 500 pounds, and reach 6 feet in length. Here is a Darwin Finch on the back of a land tortoise. A grebe was walking through the woods. And I caught sight of this yellow warbler.