Flies plague the explorer by day, and mosquitoes by night. The harsh lava cinders cut shoes to ribbons. When Charles Darwin, the first of several scientists to visit the Galapagos, came here in 1835 he found that half the birds and plants were different from species in other parts of the world. About a third of the shorefish and nearly all the reptiles also differed. As few attempts have been made to settle the Galapagos, the animals display little fear of humans.
Sea iguanas swarm the coastal rocks, which are frequented also by herds of sea lions and fur seals.
Among the birds peculiar to the islands are species of pelican, penguin, flightless cormorant, heron, dove, finch, mockingbird, hawk, and albatross. Early in the 20th century enormous numbers were slaughtered for oil. In 1964 a field party of the Galapagos International Scientific Project discovered lichens growing on the giant tortoises. It was the first time a land animal was found to host a lichen. The Galapagos were discovered in 1535 by the Spanish bishop of Panama, but no attempt was made to settle them.