Top 10 Galapagos wildlife

The Galapagos are home to the only marine lizard on Earth. It likely evolved its marine lifestyle because of the sparsity of nutritious vegetation on land, opting instead for seaweed. Darwin was not a fan, when he first saw them he wrote: “The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large (2-3 ft), disgusting clumsy Lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. I call them ‘imps of darkness'”. You'll spot marine iguanas all over the islands, sunbathing on the rocks, and you may even find one swimming along the water's surface when you're snorkelling. On land, look out for their sneezes, which they do frequently to expel salt from glands near their noses.

The Galapagos penguin is one of the smallest penguins in the world and the most northerly; in fact its the only species found north of the equator. Take our boat cruise of the North, West and Central Islands and we'll visit the islands most inhabited by these penguins, so you'll hopefully get to spot them from the boat or during one of your stops on land.

There are few birds easier to recognise than male magnificent frigatebirds. They have a giant red throat pouch which makes for a bright, stunning display when fully inflated to attract females during mating season. The brighter the pouch, the more attractive they appear to females.

This flightless bird, endemic to the Galapagos and only found in the western islands, is the only cormorant in the world which has lost the ability to fly. Look out for these birds on our boat cruise of the North, West and Central Islands.

Last but not least, Darwin’s favourite - the finch. Perhaps not as exciting as the others, however the finch played a key role in the development of Darwin's theory of natural selection. There are around 13 different species today that are endemic to the Galapagos, all evolved from a single species.