Question 1: Where are the seabirds in today’s image?
- Galápagos Islands
- Borneo
- Madagascar
Correct Answer: Galápagos Islands
Fact: The Galápagos Islands are a treasure trove of flora and fauna. In addition to birds like these Nazca boobies, the islands are home to endemic species like giant Galápagos tortoises, Galápagos penguins, and marine iguanas as well as unique plants.
Question 2: Which of these flightless birds is endemic to the Galápagos Islands?
- Southern brown kiwi
- Flightless cormorant
- Common ostrich
Correct Answer: Flightless cormorant
Fact: The flightless cormorant is distinguished by its unusually small wings, which are a third of the size needed to take flight. Instead, it excels in swimming and diving, using its powerful legs and webbed feet to hunt for small marine animals in the coastal waters.
Question 3: Which naturalist was inspired by the wildlife of the Galápagos Islands?
- Henry David Thoreau
- Henry Walter Bates
- Charles Darwin
Correct Answer: Charles Darwin
Fact: Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution by natural selection. Inspired by his observations in the Galápagos Islands, he proposed that species evolve over time through a process where the fittest individuals survive and pass on their traits through reproduction. His groundbreaking work was published in ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859.