Española Island
Española Island (Spanish: Isla Española) is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years. A popular tourist stop, Isla Española is the most southerly island in the Galápagos Archipelago. It is about a 10- to 12-hour trip by boat from Isla Santa Cruz. Tourists come to see the Waved Albatrosses (from March to January, almost the entire world population breeds on the island) and the mating dances of Blue-footed Boobies on Española Island.
Española Island is the oldest of the Galapagos Islands with an estimated age of over 3 million years. However this island is dying, slowly becoming a rocky, barren land with little or no vegetation. But this does give large bays, with sand and soft shingle which attracts a healthy number of Galapagos Sea Lions
Two spots are especially popular with visitors: Bahía Gardner, which has a lovely beach; and Punta Suárez, of interest because of its varied bird-life. This island has its own species of animals, such as the Española Mockingbird, which has a longer and more curved beak than the one on the central islands; the Española lava lizard; the Marine Iguana of the subspecies venustissimus, which has red markings on its back; among others. Here there are also Swallow-tailed Gulls and other tropical birds.
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- Espanola wildlife and visitor sites Galapagosonline.com*
- Fauna at Gardner Bay
- Rory Carroll, (27 June 2010), "Galápagos giant tortoise saved from extinction by breeding programme: Reintroduction of species that Charles Darwin saw raises conservation hopes for other wildlife", The Observer, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/27/giant-tortoise-galapagos-saved-extinction
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