火山列岛 07

Southeast of Hawaii,

straddling the equator,

lie the Galapagos Islands

As on Hawaii,

some of the volcanoes here are still very active

The coastline of Isabela - the largest island

- is covered in volcanic rock

Here a very different kind of animal can be found in the rocky tubes

The chicks of Galapagos penguins

Without the lava tubes,

they wouldn't survive

Cool and sheltered,

the tubes are the perfect nursery,

protecting the chicks from the unforgiving temperatures outside

Unforgiving if you're a penguin,that is

Adult Galapagos penguins only cope by doing something the chicks can't yet do

They take a dip

The adults plunge into cool waters

that have travelled all the way from the Antarctic

Who says penguins can't fly?

There's lots of food here,

as schools of fish are drawn to the shelter of these rocky, volcanic shores

But while the parents are out fishing,

their chicks are home alone

Back in the lava tube,

there's something creeping around

A Sally Lightfoot crab has penguin on its mind

It's dark,

so the crab can't be sure exactly what it's up against

This time, it's taken on more than it can handle

Had the encounter been just a few days earlier,

the outcome might have been very different

Crabs are major predators of baby penguins