Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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 Arcturos Wolf Sanctuary in Agrapidia,
near Florina, which houses nine wolves rescued from illegal captivity.
The golden jackal is a strong candidate for Greece's most misunderstood mammal. Al-
though 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.
Once roaming across all of mainland Greece, the graceful Red Deer is now restricted
to the Sithonia peninsula, the Rhodope Mountain bordering Bulgaria and Mt Parnitha
north of Athens. As the largest herbivore in Greece, its population is under constant
threat from illegal hunters, making attempts at population redistribution unsuccessful.
Greece has an active snake population and in spring and summer you will inevitably
spot these wriggling reptiles on roads and pathways all over the country. Fortunately the
majority are harmless, though the viper and the coral snake can cause fatalities. Lizards
are in abundance and there is hardly a dry-stone wall without one of these curious
creatures clambering around.
habilitation centre in Greece and southern Europe.
A BURNING ISSUE
Each year, forest fires rage across Greece, destroying many thousands of hectares,
often in some of the most picturesque areas of Greece. Mt Parnitha and the Pelo-
ponnese are still recovering from fires in 2007 that changed the face of the land-
scape. In the summer of 2012, more than 170 fast burning fires swept across the
country, swallowing entire villages and leaving more than 50 dead. One of the
worst hit islands was Chios, where more than 64 sq km of forest and farmland were
destroyed, nine villages were evacuated and the island's mastic forests were
threatened. As the fires reached the outskirts of Athens, the government declared
a state of emergency and asked for water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy.
By early in the summer of 2013, more than 20 fires had already ignited.
The increasing scale of recent fires is blamed on rising Mediterranean temperat-
ures and high winds. Many locals argue that the government is ill-prepared and
that its attempts to address the annual fires are slow. Fearing they won't receive
help, many locals refuse to leave areas being evacuated, preferring to take the risk
and attempt to fight the flames themselves.
