On the Galapagos Islands, iguanas are a common sight on both land and in the sea. In fact, the Galapagos Islands are the only place where you can see marine iguanas, which are adapted to eating underwater algae.
In this sheltered cluster of islands, marine iguanas were able to evolve this heavily specialized diet.
If you could design the perfect underwater grazer, you’d be hard pressed to top the evolutionary masterpiece that is the marine iguana. This pint-sized prehistoric monster is the ocean’s answer to the lawnmower – but with far more flair and a distinctly Jurassic vibe.
Endemic to the Galapagos, these feisty little reptilian lawnmowers have traded the terrestrial life for one amongst the crashing waves. Their isolated island home, undisturbed for millennia, allowed nature’s inventiveness to run wild, crafting a biological wonder perfectly outfitted for harvesting the algal “greens” carpeting the rocky ocean floors.
But as remarkable as their aquatic adaptations are, these resourceful reptiles still must return to dry land. Here, the once-supreme algae bandits become prey for the islands’ feathered apex predators – the hawks.
Life in the Galapagos is a delicate balance of the hunted and hunter.
When they venture away from the sea, they face threats from Galapagos hawks, which are apex predators in these isolated islands.
But Galapagos hawks are not their only foes. There’s also snakes.
Dramatic footage from the BBC captures the moment a swarm of snakes attacked a young iguana. The young iguana must run for its life in one of the most epic moments in nature documentary history.
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