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Galapagos Islands - Ecuador News |
Discovered Pink land iguanas in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
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January 08 st, 2009
A species of pink land iguana overlooked by Charles Darwin during his visits to the Galapagos Islands may provide evidence of the ancient animals' diversification in the archipelago, scientists have reported.
When English naturalist Charles Darwin explored the Galapagos Islands in the early 1800s, he, and countless scientists since, overlooked a hefty pink iguana.
The iguana, referred to as "rosada," meaning "pink" in Spanish, has black stripes and is believed to be extremely rare. It was discovered at Volcan Wolf, Isabela Island's northernmost volcano, which Darwin missed during his five-week stay at the archipelago in 1835.
Galapagos National Park rangers first stumbled upon the striking land lizard a few decades ago, but this week's study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to officially document the iguana.
Changes to Boat Itineraries
Boat itineraries in Galapagos are undergoing changes. The Galapagos National Park held a meeting at the end of January with representatives of the travel industry. During the meeting the Park emphasized the need to reduce the impact of visitors at certain sites. These include Hood, Tower, Bartolome, North Seymour, South Plazas and Punta Espinosa.
In attendance were members of ASOGAL, CAPTURGAL (the Galapagos Chamber of Tourism), and ADATUR (Galapagos Boat Operators), All agreed that sacrifices would have to be made in order to keep the islands healthy for the future.
Small boat itineraries have been the first to be affected. Larger boats (with 48 or more passengers) will also be affected, although changes to their itineraries have been delayed for several months.
The National Park plans to strictly regulate requests for special itineraries. It said that changes to a yacht's approved itinerary would not be made unless there were very compelling reasons. By 2007, special itinerary requests will need to be submitted no less than eight months in advance for consideration.
Other measures are being looked into to remove pressure from the most visited sites, especially those in the central part of the archipelago.
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Galapagos Islands - Ecuador News |
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The third shark tagging expedition in the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) concluded last week. More and more is being discovered about these species, which still abound in the area, and each new piece of information enhances their management and further ensures their conservation.
The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), Galapagos National Park (GNP), WWF, and Conservation International (CI) launched this third voyage to seek an understanding of hammerhead, Galapagos, and whale shark movements inside and in the area of the GMR. The work of CDF’s BIOMAR team (Department of Marine Research and Coastal Conservation) has been supported by GCT’s Shark Campaign.
A National Geographic filming team went along on this trip to prepare a documentary on hammerhead research work and conservation in the region. During the operation, one hammerhead was followed for 44 straight hours, and two whale sharks and thirty hammerheads were tagged. In addition, all the information recorded in the previously installed underwater monitors was recovered. The most important achievement was the placement of two satellite tags on hammerhead sharks that are now emitting data on their positions…
Visit: www.savegalapagos.org/nov07_2.html
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Tourism Boat Caught With Sea Cucumbers
On 19 January, the tourist boat, Galapagos Adventure II, was caught by the Ecuadorian Merchant Marine four miles off Santa Cruz with 18 sacks of sea cucumbers. The boat was impounded and an investigation was launched by the National Park. No ruling has yet been made. The Galapagos Adventure II belongs to the Galaven company.
Artisinal Fishing Tourism Approved
Artisinal fishing as a tourist activity has been approved by the Inter-institutional Management Authority (AIM). This new form of tourism allows visitors to learn about the art and culture of small-scale fishing by local residents. The fishing sector had proposed this as a way for local fishermen to participate in tourism. No details are available about what will be offered, or by whom.
Source: International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA)
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Traveller Stories |
Enjoy our New EXPERIENCES:
Experiences of our travellers...
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Dear Galasam.-
It is already more than one month ago that we have enjoyed our beautiful travel through Ecuador. Our trip to the Galapagos and to the Amazonas were unforgettable. Again I want to thank you because you had arranged such a beautiful lodge for us. But I also want to thank Blanca for here great hospitality. I only do'nt have a mailadres and I do'nt know how to write it in spanish So I hope you wil translate this letter to her. I will remember Ecuador as a beautiful and hospitable country.
I truly hope I will soon return.
With Love, Marie-José Vernooy |
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Traveller Stories |
Enjoy our New EXPERIENCES:
Experiences of our travellers...
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Hello Galasam.-
Hello, My wife and I just wanted to write and say how impressed we were with our tour. We had originally booked a 10 day tour of the Galapagos (Sept 23 to Oct 2) through GAP Adventures but as their ship had to go into dry dock they arranged for us to go on one of the Galasam ships, the Estrella Del Mar II. Now that we are back home we just wanted let Galasam know that we had a wonderful time and were very impressed with the quality of the tour. The ships crew were very friendly and helpful and the guide, Miguel Angel, was terrific. Not only did he have a good knowledge of the various plants and animals but he was also able to provide some of the history of the islands which made all the difference. What also impressed us was that he was able to converse in several languages which helped all the guests feel more comfortable as he would repeat his explanation in each language. Having a crew and interpreter as friendly and informative as this really helped everyone to get along well and when touring with a group it is the people that can make or break the experience. We will definitely recommend Galasam to our friends. As this is the only email address I could find on your website could you please forward a copy of this email to the Human Resources department and to the manager for Migual Angel and the Estrella Del Mar II.
Sincerely David & Gillian . |
