ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tui De Roy is a photographer, conservationist, writer and has lived in the Galápagos since she was young. See more of her work at tuideroy.com and read her paper in Ecology & Evolution at onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
IT STARTED ONE afternoon as I sat on the edge of a deserted Galápagos cliff, gazing over the sea. Absorbed in a quiet reverie, I had no inkling that I was about to witness a spectacle so incredible that it would - five years and 2,400 photographs later - lead to my first-ever scientific paper, despite having no formal academic credentials.
Ever since Charles Darwin's famed visit almost two centuries ago in 1835, the Galápagos Islands have been renowned for their remarkable array of unique flora and fauna - none more so than their extraordinary reptiles. Iconic giant tortoises and marine iguanas have long stolen the attention of the world, with some very special birds following close behind, such as Darwin's finches, Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants.
MAMMALS, ON THE OTHER hand, are lacking, represented by just a handful of rodents and bats, and two pinnipeds of the Otariid family, known as the eared seals or more commonly as sea lions and fur seals. These agile, fast-swimming social creatures propel themselves with their front flippers, unlike true seals, which use slower, rear flipper propulsion.
The Galápagos archipelago lies slap bang on the equator, 930km off the west coast of Ecuador. Nowhere else in the world have these high-energy marine mammals conquered a tropical habitat, usually preferring the higher latitudes, where marine productivity tends to be much higher. In this regard, the Galápagos Islands buck the trend.
Cooperation vs competition
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2022 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2022 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
