We got a little bit of a lie-in on Friday, the second full day of the expedition, with the wake-up call not happening until 7:15 am. I ended up waking early every day on the trip, so I was up by 5 am, and caught the sun rise around 6 am.
Our first expedition of the day was a zodiac ride around the coastline of Sombrero Chino, which, since it translates as “Chinese Hat,” is likely to be cancelled as the name within the next, oh, ten days. Yes, it does look like a Chinese Hat, as the photo below shows.
It was cool riding the high waves on the ocean, and we saw some seabirds and iguanas along the coastline, but what everyone was searching the coastline for is the tiny Galapagos Penguin. It’s the second smallest penguin species, and the only one who lives at the equator. It’s also the only one who lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
Of interest (at least to me!) from Wikipedia:
“The cool waters of the Humboldt and Cromwell Currents allow it (the Galapagos penguin) to survive despite the tropical latitude. The Galápagos penguin is one of the banded penguins, the other species of which live mostly on the coasts of Africa and mainland South America.
Because of their warm environment, Galápagos penguins have developed techniques to stay cool. The feathers on their back, flippers, and head are black, and they have a white belly and a stripe looping from their eyes down to their neck and chin. Each penguin keeps only one mate, and breeds year-round.
Their nests are typically in caves and crevices as protection against predators and the harsh environment. The Galápagos penguin has a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, but due to predation, life expectancy in the wild could be significantly reduced."
Assuming we sighted a Galapagos penguin, they would our sixth of the 18 (or 17, depending on who’s arguing the case) penguin species. Our first penguin was in South Africa. Second was in New Zealand (the Fiorland Crested penguin – one of three penguin species in NZ). Numbers 3, 4, and 5 were in Antarctica (Chinstrap, Gentoo, Adelie).
I don’t need to see all 17/18 penguin species (apparently the 17 or 18 penguin species argument is to zoologists as the “is Pluto a planet” argument is to astronomers), but I do want to see as many as I can.
My suggested scientific solution to both fights? Flip a coin, one side calls it in the air, and the decision is final.
(Editor’s Note: That’s an unusually elegant solution coming from you! Blogger: Thanks, I think.)
Anyhow, we DID see Galapagos penguins swimming in the much calmer channel in between Chino Sombrero and larger James Island. The little buggers swim quickly, coming up briefly for air before diving under again.
Six penguin species down, eleven or twelve to go, depending on which side of the argument you come down on.
We later spotted them again on James Island whilst we were snorkeling. More on that in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment