Galapagos: picture series #11
Photo credits: d14lowerfloor and Connie Au Yeung
Lava lizards were really cute. They lose tails just like house lizards when startled. I thought of hyperion1 when I saw them. Females have orange markings and males have black throats and prominent black spots. The one in the top lefthand corner is female. We also saw a young Galapagos snake. It looked like a very long thick black worm. It got us suitably impressed when Fatima said they were similar in feeding habits to a boa constrictor. Though I can't imagine a thick black rubber band devouring anything close to a goat.
Marine iguanas (the black ones) were incredibly lethargic. They were emblazoned with red and green as it was mating season. I couldn't see how it worked. They hardly did a thing. One had a mockingbird sit on it for ages and didn't bat an eyelid. Another had a sea lion pup literally drag itself up and over it as if it was part of the rocky slope. He just sat there glowing bright red and green. Occasionally snorting out a spray of salt.
Land iguanas looked a lot more benevolent than the marine iguanas. They're the khaki-green ones. One snapped off a piece of prickly pear cactus, then went on to threaten others in the area off his territory. He sauntered up, faced the intruding fella and did a nodding-pushup routine. That amused us to no end. Connie and Yun happily filmed as he resorted to chasing one or two others away when the pushups didn't work.