Galapagos island finches make up my favorite way to show my students the diversification of the species: their beaks differ according the food they eat (see our previous post: Charles Darwin and Galapagos finches).

But when you use these finches as an educational means, then don’t stress on the names of the beaks… Always make sure your audience starts loving what you are doing, once they love nature, they will ask you more. And once you got them started asking, you will be able to teach them facts. The main thing is you start with teaching love

Galapagos Island Finches : what about their beaks?

When it comes to the finch, there is nothing spectacular about its beak: it needs to survive like you and me. And that’s what biology education should be about: how do creatures live next to each other in order to survive?

As you can see: my point of view is more ecological than just name this plant and never ask yourself why there is a plant in the first place.

Also: people will remember things that interests them. So try to get people interested in nature first and then the name giving aspects will come later.

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Galapagos Birdwatching Tours

Galapagos Finches are the most beautiful on the planet, but let me show more Galapagos finches in later posts. Overall: Galapagos birdwatching is a very rewarding experience: since hunting is not allowed on Galapagos, birds can come very close to you in order for you to admire them. Some will even come and sit on your hand!

Galapagos birdwatching tours are very popular in Ecuador. With its unique bird wild life and even unique "brave" animals that have no need to hide from humans, birdwatching in the Galapagos Islands is a must on any Galapagos Cruise.

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It’s not because Galapagos looks like paradise, that it is paradise. These days Galapagos is quite well respected, but that’s only a recent decision…

Back in the days of Darwin (Charles Darwin and Galapagos finches), the easiest source of food were the famous giant Galapagos turtles. They are so slow that they are easy to capture, and if you turn them on their back, they are said to be able to live for another year…

So it was only a matter of time that Galapagos turtles became endangered. Some have been captured to save the species: zoos that have Galapagos turtles have been breeding them successfully and introduced them back to the Galapagos Islands.

Yet we all know that the gene-pool is limited when your ancestors have been breeding only in zoos. Meaning: only a few parents are at the origin of most modern day Galapagos turtles.

You can say: take a turtle from one island and put them on the other islands…

I agree with that idea, but then some biologists still think that “one shouldn’t interfere”… That I find a discussable stand: first people destroy almost all and then they say: we shouldn’t interfere…

Then the specific Galapagos dilemma: one turtle form 1 island is a bit different than one from another island, and they don’t seem to have a appetite to mix-breed… That’s exactly the reason why you get specific sub species in the first place…: they “don’t breed with just any turtle!”.

Endangered Galapagos Turtles

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