TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Florence PANOUSSIAN and VIDEO by Juan RESTREPO
People walk by a tourist shop in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, in the Galapagos Islands, some 900 km off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, on April 15, 2021. - When the coronavirus pandemic arrived in South America, human activity on the Galapagos Islands ground almost to a halt, leaving giant tortoises, iguanas and other endemic species to themselves. A four-month lockdown from February last year after COVID-19 was first detected on the continent resulted in a total hiatus for tourism and near complete shutdown of scientific activity. (Photo by Rodrigo BUENDIA / AFP)