This photograph of the Prickly Pear Cactus was taken during a Panga (Zodiac) cruise around Champion Island after breakfast on Friday, December 5, 2008. We were searching for the Floreana Mockingbird. Champion and Gardner Islands are the only two satellite islands of Floreana in the Galápagos archipelago that support populations of the Floreana mockingbird, Nesomimus trifasciatus. The population on the much larger island of Floreana became extinct approximately 125 years ago. A small breeding population (approximately 20) currently exists on Champion Island. Besides seeing the Floreana Mocking Bird, we also saw many cacti. This endemic cacti is the most common cactus in the islands. With its yellow flowers, it grows like a shrub, except on islands where herbivores are a threat then trunks can grow to 5 feet tall. The prickly pear cactus is the staple of the diet of land iguanas and tortoises. The flat jointed stems of this cactus is covered with small stiff hairs and spines that identify it. The yellow flowers develop into an orange-red thorn covered fruit. Prickly pear have developed into 14 separate types ranging from the opuntia echios variation gigantea which grows to 40 feet in height to the opuntia echios variation barringtonensis found on Santa Cruz Island whose trunk measures 4 feet in diameter.