Greece - Korina Miller [57]
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Bird lovers should head to www.ornithologiki.gr for articles, links and heaps of info on the habitats and environmental protection of their feathered friends.
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Upstream on the Evros River in Thrace, the dense forests and rocky outcrops of the 72-sq-km Dadia Forest Reserve play host to the largest range of birds of prey in Europe. Thirty-six of the 38 European species can be seen here, and it is a breeding ground for 23 of them. Permanent residents include the giant black vulture, whose wingspan reaches 3m, the griffon vulture and the golden eagle. Europe’s last 15 pairs of royal eagle nest on the river delta.
About 350 pairs (60% of the worlds’ population) of the rare Eleonora’s falcon nest on the island of Piperi in the Sporades and on Tilos, which is also home to the very rare Bonelli’s eagle and the shy, cormorant-like Mediterranean shag.
For information regarding the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation centre in Greece and southern Europe, see the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital.
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The Society for the Protection of Prespa works with the Dalmatian pelican and the pygmy cormorant. If you’re planning a visit, www.spp.gr has details on what you can see when.
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ENDANGERED SPECIES
One could argue that all the native animals of Greece are endangered, given the encroaching and invasive nature of human development over a generally small land mass. The brown bear, Europe’s largest land mammal, still manages to survive in very small numbers in the Pindos Mountains, the Peristeri Range that rises above the Prespa Lakes, and in the mountains that lie along the Bulgarian border. If you want to see a bear in Greece nowadays you’re better off heading for the Arcturos Bear Sanctuary in the village of Nymfeo in Macedonia as it’s extremely rare to see one in the wild.
The grey wolf, which is protected under the European Bern Convention, is officially classified as stable however, at last count, there were only an estimated 200–300 surviving in the wild and it’s believed that up to 100 are killed annually by farmers’ indiscriminate (and illegal) use of poison baits in retaliation for the occasional marauding and mauling of their flocks. The Greek Government and insurance companies pay compensation for livestock lost to wolves but it doesn’t appear to slow the killings. The surviving wolves live in small numbers in the forests of the Pindos Mountains in Epiros, as well as in the Dadia Forest Reserve area. Head to the wolf sanctuary near Aetos in Macedonia for a better chance to see one.
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Between 1974 and 1980 an estimated 4000 jackals were hunted and killed on the Peloponnesian peninsula alone.
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The golden jackal is a strong candidate for Greece’s most misunderstood mammal. Although its diet is 50% vegetarian (and the other 50% is made up of carrion, reptiles and small mammals), it has traditionally shouldered much of the blame for attacks on stock and has been hunted by farmers as a preventative measure. Near the brink of extinction, it was declared a protected species in 1990 and now survives only in the Fokida district of central Greece and on the island of Samos.
Endangered Marine Species
Claiming top position for Europe’s most endangered marine mammal, the monk seal (Monachus monachus) ekes out an extremely precarious existence in Greece. Approximately 200 to 250 monk seals, about 90% of Europe’s minuscule population, are found in both the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Small colonies also live on the island of Alonnisos and there have been reported sightings on Tilos. Pervasive habitat encroachment is the main culprit for their diminished numbers.
The waters around Zakynthos (Click here, see also At Loggerheads, Click here) are home to the last large sea turtle colony in Europe, that of the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). The loggerhead also nests in smaller numbers on the Peloponnese and on Crete. Greece’s turtles have many hazards to dodge – fishing nets, boat propellers, rubbish, sun-loungers and beach umbrellas.