Animals of Crete

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The island is now dominated by grazing and agriculture; mostly olive and grape production. There are also a growing number of hot houses for other vegetables such as tomatoes and bananas. These traditional agricultural areas don’t hold much habitat for native animals and birds.

Hunting has also had a profound effect on both mammal and bird populations, and is still common today although protected by law. The Cretan character does not bend well to legislation and the message is not getting through to everybody regarding the low populations of many creatures still hunted in the mountains.

Below we will focus on the native animals of Crete.

The most famous of the Cretan animals is the mountain goat named the Kri Kri Capra aegagrus creticus.

These goats are thought to have been brought from Persia thousands of years ago. Most zoologists now treat the goat as native to Crete, and make a distinction between the Kri Kri and domestic goats.

Cretans identify strongly with the mountain goat in his independent, tough character that can survive in the rugged Cretan mountians. The Kri Kri is known as the "wild one" agrimi, αγρίμι. Many symbols of the Kri Kri and names in their honour can be found in Crete. For example the symbol of the Natural History Museum of Crete, above, shows the Kri Kri.

The conservation status of the Kri Kri is "vulnerable". The threats to its population are human disturbance such as recreation/tourism, which is currently ongoing, harvesting such as hunting/gathering which is also ongoing and changes in native species dynamics, such as breeding with other goats, which is also ongoing.

Both of Greece’s only two native mammal species are found on Crete – the Cretan Shrew and the Cretan Spiny Mouse.

Other mammals found on the island are the Cretan marten, badger and dormouse. There are also many reptiles, frogs, insects and molluscs adding to the ecology of the island. There are no deadly snakes, and although scorpion stings in Crete can be very painful to humans, they are not fatal.

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Acrotiri Park

" There are small mammals such as hares Lepus europaeus, hedgehogs Erinaceus concolor, beech martens Martes foina, badgers Meles meles, least weasels Mustela nivalis, rats and mice Rattus sp. and Mus sp. and bats Tadarida sp., Rhinolophus sp. Pipistrellus sp., Plecotus sp..

The reptiles European cat snake Telescopus fallax, Balkan green lizard Lacerta trilineata Erhard's wall lizard Podarcis erhardii are also encountered in the Park. "

Below is a location map of the Acrotiri Park:

For more information see www.park.tuc.gr

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Wild Cat

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Animals of Crete

Discover the animals of Crete on your walks and hikes in Crete, see our ecology and conservation pages here...