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Wildlife and hunting

The agrimi wild goat – the ‘kri-kri’ – of the Samaria Gorge is a valuable rare breed of animal, and one that is seriously protected from hunting. This is accepted by the gorge community, but pure-bred kri-kri leaving the gorge are, unfortunately, still at risk. The recent decline of goat herding as a profession has inevitably increased the population of feral goats in the mountains. Female ferals interbreed with male agrimi so that where once domestic goats were kept out of the gorge, nowadays it is common to see half-breeds tramping about in the lower section. These half-breeds are supposed to be culled in the winter months, but this measure has limited success, as goats live in inaccessible places. However, thanks to the female kri-kri’s habit of refusing to interbreed, it is hoped that pure-breds – being superb rock-climbers – will sustain at least in the higher reaches of the Samaria Gorge (information from Andreas Stavroudakis of Ay. Roumeli, 2005).

Vultures and eagles are officially protected from hunting, but they, too, remain at risk. The hunting season starts in mid-September. The standard prey is chukar (a type of partridge that nests in rocky terrain mostly above 1600m/5250ft) and mountain hare. To the regret of the locals (who hunt), hares are now quite rare. New access roads and off-road vehicles have exacerbated the situation. Shepherds driving up to their work stations after dark may floodlight the road to catch a hare’s eyes in the light. If you are camping in the mountains and hear lots of shooting from the roads this is probably what is going on.