🐐 Capra aegagrus cretica, also known as kri kri

Hello Steemians,

In this post, I am going to talk about a beautiful, endangered animal species, indigenous to Crete, in Greece. Its proper name is Capra aegagrus cretica, but locals call it kri kri.

The kri kri, also called Agrimi in the vernacular, doesn't actually originate from Crete. It was imported to Crete, thousands of years ago. As a matter of fact, it comes from domesticated goats in the Levant region of the Eastern Mediterranean, from around 8000-7500 BC. It's still considered indigenous to Crete though, as it's not found anywhere else today in the wild. Not in large numbers anyway.

Their main characteristic is the two horns that sweep back from the head. The male have much larger and longer horns than the female. Kri kri are also very shy; they avoid humans, and like rocky habitats of high altitude. They can leap up to several meters, and climb sheer cliffs.

A male kri kri

It is believed that the species was deified by the Minoans, and archaelogists have found many depictions of it in vessels, murals, etc. As a matter of fact, kri kri are still used today as a symbol of the island, and for various other marketing purposes.

Minoan rhyton from the Palace of Zakros

Unfortunately, its numbers started plunging ever since the Second World War. The mountain guerillas during the German Occupation of Crete were hunting it for its meat, as they had little else to eat. Reduction of grazing grounds, disease, and interbreeding with ordinary goats have further exacerbated the problem.

As a result, kri kri numbers have plunged to about 2,000 for the whole island of Crete, rendering it vulnerable. Its main habitats in Crete is the Lefka Ori (White Mountains), at an altitude of about 2,400 m (8,000 ft), and the Gorge of Samaria, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which hosts another 14 endemic animal species.

Lefka Ori

Samaria Gorge

Adult female kri kri

The Gorge of Samaria is an area of outstanding natural beauty that has long been on my wish list. Thousands of tourists walk through it every year, but most of them will never see a kri kri; they live in the 'Untrodden', sheer cliffs about 900m (3000ft) high. They do occasionally come down to say hi though, as shown in the following video:

Video of male kri kri

Kri kri can also be found on three other small islands (Dia, Thodorou and Agii Pantes) in Greece, and attempts have been made to introduce it to other places as well, to protect it from extinction.To this end, and the protection of the other endemic species, Samaria Gorge was declared a national park in 1962, and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981.

It is a shame that such a beautiful animal, which managed to survive for thousands of years in Crete's harsh terrains, would face such danger in our modern times. Let's hope it survives.

And that's the end of today's post. I hope you liked it, and that you will follow me to the next one.

So, have a good day, and we'll speak again soon!

Image credits:
1.A male kri kri: from https://www.youtube.com, by Birger Andersen.
2.Minoan rhyton: from https://en.wikipedia.org, by Lourakis.
3.Lefka Ori: from https://images.pexels.com, by Michael Weckert.
4.Samaria Gorge: from https://c1.staticflickr.com, by Miguel Carvalho.
5.Adult female kri kri: from https://upload.wikimedia.org, by Wannes.

Text credits:
1.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kri-kri.