On a visit to one of the Galapagos Islands there was a dead marine iguana at our tour guide’s feet.
“How did this die?“, he asked.
3 of us gave him our best guesses:
- old age.
- it ate something poisonous.
- it was attacked by something.
- it lost too much body heat at night.
“Maybe“, our guide said reflectively.
After a long pause we asked, “So what did it die from?“
“I don’t know. I’ve just never seen a dead one before.” he answered.
7 responses so far ↓
Kelly Pettit // June 2, 2008 at 3:52 am |
How much does a tour guide like that get paid I wonder lol. Probably holding the map upside down too.
w1kkp // June 2, 2008 at 3:51 pm |
This is such a terrific story. The guide, faced with the “unknown” and one would think Galapagos “unknown” would be pretty damn unique…anyway, guide faces the unknown with the Socratic method!!
Who knew? On the Galapagos police blotter: “1 dead marine iguana. Case Still Open.”
A moment of silence, please.
planetross // June 2, 2008 at 4:02 pm |
The guy giving the best “probable causes of death” was a veterinarian. He was really trying. He had a stick, flipped the iguana over, examined it closely, and would have given it an autopsy if we’d asked.
My lame contribution was “old age”.
Finicky Penguin // June 2, 2008 at 4:11 pm |
Don’t iguanas have pretty long life spans? I should get an iguana…
S. Le // June 2, 2008 at 7:28 pm |
Does that mean they typically live forever? It’s good to be an Iguana!
planetross // June 2, 2008 at 10:49 pm |
S. Le: I guess they usually get carried away by birds or other things; or they die at sea. Not sure. Maybe there is a “Marine Iguana Graveyard” somewhere
Pomeroy! // June 3, 2008 at 7:36 am |
What you need now is a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,’ Iguana style.