Do You Know Why the Galápagos Archipelago is Called Galápagos?

Story by Corde’ Shaw. Photo from https://www.pikrepo.com

AUG. 13, 2020: The Galápagos Islands are home to many animals such as iguanas, seals, different birds, and fish. On my trip I found out that it was home to numerous species of birds, 45 of them are endemic, 42 species of reptiles, 15 species of mammals, and 79 species of fish.

As I was there I learned that the most famous animal to inhabit these islands gives the name to the whole archipelago, “Islas de Galápagos” meaning “The Island of Tortoises”. The Galápagos Tortoise also known as the Elephant Tortoise is the largest living species of tortoises.

The iguanas on the Galápagos Islands are no danger to humans as they only eat seaweed. These iguanas can be seen no where else on the planet. Charles Darwin found out that some of the local species can’t be seen anywhere else on the planet.

Overall this was a fun experience to learn about some of the species of the Galápagos Islands. I would encourage others to go and I would even want to go myself because personally I’m an animal lover and would do almost anything to learn about different animals.

Corde’ Shaw is a sixth grade scholar at Friendship Southeast Middle School.