TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Florence PANOUSSIAN and VIDEO by Juan RESTREPO
A marine iguana basks in the sun at Galapagos National Park in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, in the Galapagos Islands, some 900 km off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, on April 14, 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)