Wildlife

Turtles, monk seals, pelicans and bears

Marathonisi island in Laganas Bay, Zakynthos. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Greece is wilder than the postcards suggest: loggerhead turtles nest on Zakynthos, Mediterranean monk seals hide in the Sporades caves, Dalmatian pelicans fish the Prespa lakes, brown bears still roam the Pindus, and the kri-kri wild goat survives in the Samaria Gorge. The rule everywhere: watch from a distance, never feed, and keep to the marked paths in nesting areas.

Loggerhead turtles, ZakynthosIonian Islands · The Caretta caretta nesting beaches of Laganas Bay, a national marine park.

Mediterranean monk seals, AlonissosThessaly · One of the world's rarest mammals, protected in the Northern Sporades marine park.

Dalmatian pelicans, PrespaWestern Macedonia · The great pelicans of the border lakes, best in spring.

Kri-kri wild goats, SamariaCrete · The Cretan agrimi, surviving in the Samaria Gorge.

Brown bears, NymfaioWestern Macedonia · The Arcturos sanctuary for rescued bears in the Pindus.

Birdwatching, Evros DeltaEastern Macedonia and Thrace · Flamingos, pelicans and raptors at the Turkish border wetland.

Raptors, Dadia forestEastern Macedonia and Thrace · Black and griffon vultures over one of Europe's great raptor forests.

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