San Cristobal Day 5 March 11th
Day of the Tortoise
La Galapaguera & Punta Pitt, San Cristóbal
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León Dormido (in English : Kicker Rock).
Day 5 – La Galapaguera & Punta Pitt, San Cristóbal
The most emblematic animal in the archipelago is the Galápagos giant tortoise.
Over-hunting and competition with introduced animals has left its numbers close to extinction. Nonetheless, since the late 1950s, the work of the Galápagos National Park Service and the scientists of the Charles Darwin Research Station has been bringing those numbers back. See these ancient reptiles and their babies, and learn more about current conservation efforts at Galapaguera Cerro Colorado. Breeding and rearing endemic animals in captivity is part of a much broader conservation programme aimed at restoring and protecting the Galapagos Islands’ natural biodiversity.
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Tortoise reserve reached by a bus rideSan Cristobal
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Giant Tortoises atSan Cristobal
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Giant Tortoises atSan Cristobal
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Mud on Your Face Big DisgraceGiant Tortoises at
San Cristobal
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StoresSan Cristobal
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Sea LionsSan Cristobal
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Sea LionsSan Cristobal
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Sea LionsSan Cristobal
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“Baby” Sea Lion Breastfeeding (up to 3 years old)San Cristobal
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Sea LionsSan Cristobal
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Sea LionsSan Cristobal
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Sealion San CristobalSunset in San Cristobal
Courtesy Jore Pigann
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PelicanSan Cristobal
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HeronSan Cristobal
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Sally Lightfoot CrabSan Cristobal
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Sea Lions Basking in the Sun on a BoatSan Cristobal
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Sea Lions Basking in the Sun on a BoatSan Cristobal
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Afternoon Spotting of DolphinsSan Cristobal
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Sunset in San CristobalCourtesy Jore Pigann
San Cristóbal is one of the oldest islands in Galápagos and the well-eroded landscape of Punta Pitt creates a dramatic landscape. Three species of boobies can be found there: Red-footed, Blue-footed and Nazca Booby, as well as both the Great and Magnificent Frigatebird. After a wet landing on an olivine beach where sea lions doze, climb up a ravine to view one of the most scenic panoramas in the archipelago. San Cristóbal or Chatham lava lizards guide the way, while Red-footed Boobies and Nazca Boobies fly overhead
From Wiki
San Cristóbal (Chatham) is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago,[1] as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part of San Cristóbal Canton, Ecuador.
Its Spanish (and official Ecuadorian) name “San Cristóbal” comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher. English speakers increasingly use that name in preference to the traditional English name of Chatham Island, derived from William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
History
San Cristobal Island is composed of three or four fused volcanoes, all extinct. It is home to the oldest permanent settlement of the islands and is the island where Darwin first went ashore in 1835. A small lake called El Junco is the only source of fresh water in the islands. The availability of fresh water is what led to the early settlement of San Cristobal.[2] A penal colony was built on San Cristóbal Island in 1880 for prisoners from mainland Ecuador. This later turned into a military base for Ecuador and export center for the island’s products including sugar, coffee, cassava, cattle, fish and lime.[3]
In April 1888 USS Albatross, a Navy-manned research vessel assigned to the United States Fish Commission, made landfall at an abandoned settlement on Charles Island.[4]
Ecology
This island hosts frigatebirds,
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Blue Footed Boobie
and Red Footed Boobies,
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and Swallow-Tailed Gulls.
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Its vegetation includes Calandrinia galapagosa,
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Lecocarpus darwinii, trees such as Lignum vitae, Matazarna. In the waters nearby are sharks,
Rays,
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and lobsters.
The largest fresh water lake in the archipelago, Laguna El Junco, is located in a crater in the highlands of San Cristóbal, in the southern half of the island. The lake harbors a large population of birdlife, but reaching the lake requires a short uphill walk. Nearby, La Galapaguera is a breeding station and sanctuary for giant tortoises.
San Cristóbal lava lizard (Microlophus bivittatus), Punta Pitt.
Galápagos brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis urinator), Cerro Brujo.