The Galápagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, are like nowhere else on earth. Colonies of dragon-like marine iguanas sunbathe on lava rocks. Sea lions and penguins zip by in blue waters. Birds called blue-footed boobies wave their brightly colored feet. Farther inland, greenish-yellow land iguanas nibble on cactus flowers, and four-foot-long giant tortoises creep through the bushes.
The Wreck of the Jessica
Right now, these fascinating islands and the creatures that live there are in danger. Two weeks ago, a ship carrying about 240,000 gallons of fuel ran aground in about six feet of water off the island of San Cristóbal. (The captain turned off his radar and then mistook a buoy for a lighthouse.) A couple of days later, the ship tipped over, and the oil began leaking into the sea. Before long, the oil spread over an area bigger than the city of Los Angeles!
Scientists were worried sick about the spill. The Galápagos are home to many animals that live nowhere else on earth. Birds and sea lions that get heavily coated with grease cannot survive. Oil not only poses a deadly threat to local fish and crabs but also threatens the animals that eat those creatures. The oil could poison the food chain.
To the Rescue!
For two weeks, workers have been struggling to limit the harm. They put floating barriers around the oil slick and sprinkled chemicals to break it apart. Teams tried to save oily animals by using gentle soap to wash fur and feathers. They used milk-which doesn't sting animals' eyes-to clean the animals' heads.
Last week Mother Nature helped too, nudging the slick away from the islands. "The sea currents, the winds and the strong sun have kept the spill from causing major damage," says Fernando Espinoza of the Charles Darwin Foundation, a Galápagos conservation group.
Even so, dozens of animals, including sea lions, albatrosses and boobies, have had to be caught and cleaned. The sticky oil makes it hard for these animals to swim or to stay warm in the water. At least one pelican and two seagulls, plus sea urchins and patches of seaweed, died.
It could take at least two years to clean up the gooey black mess. If the fuel sinks to the ocean bottom, it could smother algae and other sea plants that fish, marine iguanas and birds like to eat.
Islands Rich In History
The Spanish bishop who discovered the Galápagos in 1535 called them the Islas Encantadas-the Enchanted Isles-because of the tricky water currents around them.
In the 1830s, English naturalist Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos for several weeks on a ship called the H.M.S. Beagle. He noticed that the islands' finches-small brown birds-have a variety of beaks. Galápagos finches that eat seeds off the ground have short, thick beaks. Finches that eat cactus flowers have pointed beaks that can avoid thorns. And one type of finch can hold a twig in its beak and poke it into the ground to find insects.
Tortoises also vary from island to island. Those that live in dry areas where food is hard to find have saddle-shaped shells that let them stick their necks out very far to look for food. Darwin later used what he observed to write his theory of evolution, which tries to explain how living things slowly develop new characteristics in response to their environment.
The Human Threat
Oil spills are not the Galápagos' biggest threat. More and more tourists visit every year. Populations of sea cucumbers and lobsters are shrinking because fishermen are catching too many of them. Residents' dogs, cats and goats sometimes attack the wild animals or eat their food. The Galápagos have been protected as a national park since 1959, but that is clearly not enough. Unless more is done soon, it may be too late.
Animals of the Galápagos
Most of the lizards and insects and about half of the birds and plants of the Galápagos cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Here are some of those unique creatures.