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The Galapagos Islands have only twelve native mammal species but nine of them are endemic, only place in the world, where they can be found.
The tropical sun and lack of food and water for the 1,000 km journey has screened out most of the mammal order which has been so successful elsewhere.
Two species of bat and two species of rice rat occur, and there are two species from the sea lion family in the islands.
Bryde’s whales and short-beaked common dolphins are the dominant species in this habitat.
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Bottlenose dolphins are most frequently found in the inshore waters of the central archipelago. Short-finned pilot whales and Risso’s dolphins are mostly found in areas of steep bottom topography. |
Groups of female/immature sperm whales are seasonal around the Galapagos, converging around the islands during the warmer months of the year.
The sea lion and fur seal arrived by swimming.
The absence of large mammalian predators probably accounts for the fearlessness of the other native fauna toward humans.
The reason why scuba-diving and snorkelling are so popular in particular, is due in no small part to the rich diversity of marine mammals that can be seen in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands |
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