OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Giant tortoises that can weigh over 400 pounds walk slowly across the land. Some of them live to be over 100 years old! Blue-footed boobies are birds with bright blue feet, and they do a funny dance to find a mate. Marine iguanas are the only lizards in the world that swim in the ocean. They dive underwater to eat seaweed off the rocks.

• A scientist named Charles Darwin visited these islands long ago, and the animals he saw helped him understand how nature works.
• The Galapagos got their name from the giant tortoises – “galapago” means tortoise in old Spanish.
• Each island has its own special kinds of animals found nowhere else on Earth.