The rare and intriguing wildlife you can see on a Galápagos cruise

A Galápagos cruise gives you a wildlife experience quite unlike anything else on earth. Much of the flora and fauna found on the islands is unique, and remarkable, because species have evolved to suit the harsh, remote Galápagos environment. What's more, the geographical isolation of the archipelago means Galápagos wildlife have never developed a fear of humans, setting the scene for some thrilling encounters. Here's our guide to the most popular native species found on the islands.

Galápagos giant tortoises

Tortoises are the namesake of the Galápagos Islands: galápago means tortoise in Spanish. There are 15 known species of giant tortoises native to the Galápagos Islands, four of which are now extinct. Up until recently, the Fernandina giant tortoise was considered extinct, too, but in February 2019, a female thought to be over 100 years old was spotted on the island – the first time this species had been seen since 1906. The only other place giant tortoises exist are in the Seychelles. Visitors can see wild giant tortoises on San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Pinzón and Isabela; on Española and Santiago, they’re up in the mountains and trickier to find. You can also see them in conservation centres, such as the Charles Darwin Research Centre on Santa Cruz.

Galápagos sea lions

Surely the most popular of Galápagos endemic animals, you’ll find sea lions pretty much everywhere – on the beaches, in the ocean, sunbathing on fishing boats in the harbours and even snoozing on benches. These mammals – thought to have originally migrated to the Galápagos from California – have never been seriously threatened by humans and love to interact. They swim right up to snorkellers, playfully darting around. It’s one of the few places in the world that such encounters are so readily available and a highlight for many tourists. It can be tricky when they’re so curious and friendly, but always aim to maintain your distance to avoid touching them.

Marine iguanas

They may not be the most beautiful of creatures, but black, blunt-nosed marine iguanas are one of a kind. Found nowhere else on Earth, these are the only sea-faring lizards in the world. They’re around most islands, usually seen on coastal rocks, warming up their cold-blooded bodies. Get too close and you might get in the way of a spray of salt snorted out of their nostrils; this is how they rid themselves of excess sea salt. As with giant tortoises, each island has separate subspecies. Mature iguana males change their colours in mating season (January to March) – they are brightest around Española, morphing to shades of bright green and red.

Blue-footed boobies

The blue-footed variety is probably the most well-known of the three booby species found in the Galápagos, along with the red-footed and the Nazca. The Galápagos is home to roughly half the breeding pairs of all blue-footed boobies and you can see them all over the archipelago – but the best places to find them on land are North Seymour and Española. The males’ blue feet play a big role in the mating ritual, in which they strut around, showcasing their bright webbed feet to prospective partners – the bluer the feet, the more attractive they are to females (the colour is linked to how well fed the male is). Blue-footed boobies are expert divers and can plunge into the sea at speeds of up to 60 miles an hour, homing in on the silvery flicker of fish.

Galápagos penguins

The endemic Galápagos penguins are the only penguins that live on the equator and the second smallest species in the world. Most of them live in the western part of the Galápagos, on Fernandina Island and Isabela, but you can also see them pottering about on the rocks before it gets too hot or darting through the water around Bartholomew. They can survive in the tropics thanks to the cool Cromwell and Humboldt currents and because their breeding seasons are flexible, determined by the water temperature. With a decreasing population of around 1,200 individuals that's at risk from El Niño (when the water temperature rises), invasive species such as cats, dogs and rats, and fishing activity, they’re currently considered endangered.

Land iguanas

There are three endemic land iguana species: the Galápagos land iguana, the Santa Fé land iguana and the pink Galápagos land iguana. You can find them sunning themselves in the lowlands of islands such as Isabela, James, North Seymour and Santa Cruz. Charles Darwin described them as having ‘a singularly stupid appearance’, which is not wholly unfair. The marine iguanas and land iguanas have occasionally mated, resulting in a hybrid iguana that doesn’t forage in the sea, but is particularly good at climbing trees. You might be able to spot one of these rare hybrids on South Plaza Island.

Waved albatrosses

The waved or Galápagos albatross nests on Española Island. It is considered critically endangered due to there being only one main breeding site. The birds have a predictable breeding cycle, laying their eggs between April and June. The eggs are then incubated for two months giving them plenty of time to depart the island with their young by January, when the wind drops and any remaining albatrosses are effectively stranded until April. When they are not nesting, they fly hundreds of miles to Peru or the coast of mainland Ecuador to forage for fish and squid.

Great and magnificent frigate birds

There are five frigate species in the world and two of them are found in the Galápagos: the great frigate and the magnificent frigate. One of the main differences between the two species is the shoulder plumages in males: great frigates have a green sheen and magnificent frigates have a purple sheen. Female great frigates have white feathers on their chests all the way up to their necks, while magnificent females have a black triangle from chin to chest. Frigates – which you can see all over the Galápagos – are known as ‘the pirates of the sky’, due to their diet of stolen food, which they bully other birds into regurgitating; they can’t get their feathers wet, so they’re unable to dive for their own catch. They are, however, expert flyers and can stay in the air for days at a time. The males have a distinctive mating display, puffing up a large bright red sack under their bill to impress the females – you can see this behaviour around North Seymour and Genovesa islands.