The kri-kri (''Capra hircus cretica''), sometimes called the Cretan goat, Agrimi, or Cretan Ibex, is a
feral goat
The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.
Species
Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
inhabiting the Eastern
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
, previously considered a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...
of
wild goat
The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near thre ...
. The kri-kri today is found only in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
on three small islands just off the shore of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
(
Dia,
Thodorou and Agii Pantes). The kri-kri can also be found on the island of
Sapientza
Sapientza or Sapienza ( el, Σαπιέντζα) Σαπιέντζα is a Greek island off the southern coast of the Peloponnese, near the city of Methóni. It is administratively part of the municipality of Pylos-Nestor, in Messenia. The 2011 cens ...
(
Messenian Oinousses ) which was brought to the island in great numbers, in order to protect the species from extinction.
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 humans, resting during the day. The animal can leap some distance or climb seemingly sheer cliffs.
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
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450 ...
.It was once common throughout the
Aegean but the peaks of the 2,400 m (8,000 ft)
White Mountains of Western Crete are their last strongholds—particularly a series of almost vertical 900 m (3,000 ft) cliffs called 'the Untrodden'—at the head of the
Samaria Gorge
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first-ce ...
. This mountain range, which hosts another 14 endemic animal species, is protected as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
Biosphere Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
. 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 a population below 200. It had been the only meat available to mountain guerillas during the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
occupation in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Its status was one reasons why the Samaria Gorge became a
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
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. Hunting them is strictly prohibited.
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
excavations have unearthed several depictions of the kri-kri. Some academics believe that the animal was worshiped during antiquity. On the island, males are often called 'agrimi' ( el, αγρίμι, i.e. 'the wild one'), while the name 'sanada' ( el, σανάδα) is used for the female. The kri-kri is a symbol of the island, much used in tourism marketing and official literature.
As molecular analyses demonstrate, the kri-kri is not, as previously thought, a distinct subspecies of wild goat. Rather, it is a
feral domestic goat, derived from the first stocks of goats domesticated in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean around 8000-7500 BCE. Therefore, it represents a nearly ten-thousand-year-old "snapshot" of the first domestication of goats.
See also
*
Sapientza
Sapientza or Sapienza ( el, Σαπιέντζα) Σαπιέντζα is a Greek island off the southern coast of the Peloponnese, near the city of Methóni. It is administratively part of the municipality of Pylos-Nestor, in Messenia. The 2011 cens ...
*
Feral goats
The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.
Species
Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
*
European mouflon
*
Auckland Island Pig, redomesticated pig population
*
Campbell Island cattle, exterminated feral cattle population
*
Chillingham Cattle
Chillingham cattle, also known as Chillingham wild cattle, are a breed of cattle that live in a large enclosed park at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England. In summer 2022 the cattle numbers 138 animals with approximately equal numbers ...
and
White Park White Park may refer to:
;Places:
* White Park Bay, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK
* White Park, County Antrim, a townland in Northern Ireland, UK
* White Park (Concord, New Hampshire), a public park in Concord, New Hampshire, US
* White Pa ...
, culturally significant (semi-)feral cattle populations
References
*Bar-Gal, G. K. ''et al.'' (2002): Genetic evidence for the origin of the agrimi goat (''Capra aegagrus cretica''). ''
Journal of Zoology
The ''Journal of Zoology'' is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted ...
'' 256:369-377.
DOI:10.1017/S0952836902000407
*Manceau, V. ''et al.'' (1999): Systematics of the genus ''Capra'' inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence data. ''
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by E.A. Zimmer.
Indexing
The journal is indexed in:
* EMBiology
*Journal Citation Reports
*Scopus
...
'' 13:504-510
{{Taxonbar, from=Q519877
Goats
Feral goats
Capra (genus)
Goat breeds
Mammals of Europe
Endemic fauna of Crete
Subspecies