KRI-KRI IBEX HUNTING IN GREECE
The kri-kri Ibex is sometimes called the Cretan goat, Agrimi, or Cretan Ibex. Kri-kri Ibex hunting can be done only on the island of Crete, Greece and three small islands just offshore. You can book your Kri-kri Ibex hunt trip with Grand Slam Ibex.
KRI-KRI IBEX
This Ibex is a diminutive form of the Bezoar Ibex, which has migrated into the western-most reach of the range of this species
Macedonia is the only source for this “ibex”, other than the Greek island of Sapienza and hunting takes place year-round by special permit, (these permits are very limited), in two game reserves in the mountains south of Skopje The kri-kri (Capra aegagrus cretica), sometimes called the Cretan goat, Agrimi, or Cretan Ibex, is a feral goat inhabiting the Eastern Mediterranean, previously considered a subspecies of wild goat. The kri-kri is now found only on the island of Crete, Greece and three small islands just offshore (Dia, Thodorou and Agii Pantes)
The kri-kri has a light brownish coat with a darker band around its neck. It has two horns that sweep back from the head. In the wild they are shy and avoid tourists, resting during the day. The animal can leap some distance or climb seemingly sheer cliffs.
KRI-KRI IBEX HUNT
The kri-kri is not thought to be indigenous to Crete, most likely having been imported to the island during the time of the Minoan civilization. Nevertheless, it is found nowhere else and is therefore endemic to Crete. It was common throughout the Aegean but the peaks of the 8,000 ft (2,400 m) White Mountains of Western Crete are their last strongholds–particularly a series of almost vertical 3,000 ft (900 m) cliffs called ‘the Untrodden’—at the head of the Samaria Gorge. This mountain range, which hosts another 14 endemic animal species, is protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In total, their range extends to the White Mountains, the Samaria National Forest and the islets of Dia, Thodorou, and Agii Pandes. Recently some were introduced onto two more islands
By 1960, the kri-kri was under threat, with numbers below 200. It had been the only meat available to mountain guerillas during the German occupation in World War II. Its status was one reasons why the Samaria Gorge became a national park in 1962. There are still only about 2,000 animals on the island and they are considered vulnerable: hunters still seek them for their tender meat, grazing grounds have become scarcer and disease has affected them. Hybridization is also a threat, as the population has interbred with ordinary goats