animals+of+the+Galopagos+Islands

Sally Lightfoot Crab
Have you ever been to the Galapagos Islands? The Sally Lightfoot Crab has! The Sally Lightfoot Crab lives in the Galapagos Islands! Did you know, Sally Lightfoot Crabs can jump 30 feet out into the ocean and when they hit water they can actually run on the water? That’s what they do when they are trying to get away from their predators, the turtle and their worst predator……… The Heron!!!! This black, blue, yellow and red creature is only about 3-4 inches long and about 5-6 inches wide! That is about the size of your hand! The Sally Lightfoot Crab likes to eat meaty bits of seafood, algae, birds, and seals. This crab is an omnivore, it eats meat and plants. The babies only eat meat. They are called fiddlers. When the babies are eggs the mother puts them in water so that they can soften. When the eggs are in water they fiddle around in the water. That’s why they are called fiddlers. The mother has fifteen to thirty eggs at a time. First they are eggs, then they hatch, then they are fiddlers. After that they are juveniles, then adults. These crabs are not endangered yet, but people are eating them and want their claws. But mostly people want them for their warm, juicy and tender taste. Did you know Sally Lightfoot Crabs are crustaceans? They are also related South American Gwalla toads? There are many other amazing facts about these crabs, but I can’t write all about them, there is not enough paper in the world. Sami

Marine Iguana
Have you ever been to the Galapagos Islands? Bet not. Have you ever heard of a Marine Iguana? Bet not. The Marine Iguana eats seaweed. However, when food is scarce, they can shrink by 20 %. The Marine Iguana is a vertebrate. It is endangered because humans hunted them. It is the only lizard known to swim. It is known to dive 50 feet under the surface. The Marine Iguana is cool, isn’t it? By Thomas

Galapagos Hawk
Have you ever looked up in the sky saw a hawk? Well, have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a Galapagos Hawk? The Galapagos Hawk lives in the Galapagos Island, and it lives in nest and flies. This animal is a bird. This bird is a hawk that lives in the Galapagos Islands and sleeps in a nest that is sometimes full of 3-4 eggs. Like most birds, they feed their babies worms. The Galapagos Hawk’s babies eat chewed up giant centipedes. The moms and dads eat giant centipedes, locust (Giant cicada), small lava lizards, snakes, rodents, young land iguanas, small tortoises and sea turtle eggs. The Galapagos Hawk is light brown and dark brown, also even black and white and just plain white. They come in different dark colors also. They are also about 56 c.m. long. WOW!It has no enemies except for humans. That’s why they are endangered, all because of the hunters that like to eat hawk meat. We hope that will stop. But for now, it has learned its weapon to stop the humans, the hawk’s CLAWS!I have one last thing that is weird about the Galapagos Hawk… the females are larger than the males! WOW! I hope you enjoyed the Galapagos Hawk. Sophie