The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador are among the world’s great treasures. With an abundance of wildlife, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and scenic landscapes, they present tremendous opportunities for photographing the native species that inhabit the tropical destination.

Pictured: A Galapagos tortoise in the Galapagos Islands.

Sunning sea lions in Gardner Bay on Espanola Island in the Galapagos archipelago.

A lizard on Pinzon Island, in Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago.

A tortoise is seen at the Galapagos National Park in Puerto Ayora.

Lonesome George, the last turtle of its subspecies and a symbol of the archipelago, at the Galapagos National Park in Santa Cruz. George died in June due to natural causes after more than a century of life without offspring. A scientists’ group found genes of the species that the tortoise belonged to in 17 Chelonians inhabiting a volcano of the Galapagos Islands, according to the head of the national park.

A whale shark in the Galapagos Islands. Galapagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation, and the University of California-Davis made satellite tagging of whale sharks in order to understand this species locally, regionally, and globally in the migration process patterns.

A puffer fish prowled the clear waters in Puerto Ayora off Santa Cruz in the Galapagos.

Two sea lions frolicked on a beach on Floreana Island in the Galapagos.

A Galapagos land iguana at the Galapagos National Park in Santa Cruz.

An sparrowhawk on Pinzon Island, in the Galapagos archipielago.

A seal on Pinzon Island, in the Galapagos archipelago.