Crete is an island of geographical contrasts to say the least; you can swim in Vaï’s palm-fringed bay and ski in the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) all in the same day. As you pass through its myriad caves, gorges, plateaux, and up and down its stickleback mountains and vast coastline, it feels like many countries rolled into one. It’s no surprise, then, that Crete has a dizzying biodiversity of flora and fauna, from monk seals to golden eagles.
While Crete is known for its large population of sheep and goats, the island is also home to some endemic fauna, including hares, rabbits and weasels and its own subspecies of badger. You are unlikely to catch sight of the big-eared Cretan spiny mouse, but you never know. The island also has a large population of bats, insects, snails and invertebrates. Other local species include the tiny Cretan tree frog and the Cretan marsh frog.
The southern coastline, with its steep underwater cliffs, is home to the Mediterranean Sea’s most significant population of sperm whales, who gather, feed and possibly mate in the area year-round. It’s also abundant with squid, on which the whales feed. Keep your eyes open while on boat trips. Groups of striped dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and Cuvier’s beaked whales frequent waters off the southern coast. Bottlenose dolphins are often spotted in the shallow waters off Paleohora between Gavdos Island and its tiny neighbouring islet of Gavdopoula.
The Cretan Sperm Whale Project, run by the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute (www.pelagosinstitute.gr), monitors the whale population.
Crete flies high in the bird world. It lies on the main Africa–Europe migratory routes and well over 400 species have been recorded on the island, including both resident and migratory species. Along the coast you’ll find birds of passage such as egrets and herons during spring and autumn migrations.
The mountains host a wealth of interesting birds. Look for blue rock thrushes, buzzards and the huge griffon vulture. Other birds in the mountains include alpine swifts, stonechats, blackbirds and Sardinian warblers. The fields around Malia host tawny and red-throated pipits, stone-curlews, fan-tailed warblers and short-toed larks. On the hillsides below Moni Preveli you may find subalpine and Ruppell’s warblers. The Akrotiri Peninsula is good for birdwatching – around the monasteries of Agias Triadas and Gouvernetou you’ll find collared and pied flycatchers, wrynecks, tawny pipits, black-eared wheatears, blue rock thrushes, stonechats, chukars and northern wheatears. Migrating species, including avocets and marsh sandpipers, can be spotted in wetland areas such as Elafonisi.
Although you might not spot them, Crete is home to a variety of exotic animals, among them the European rattlesnake (non-venomous), dice snake, cat snake and whip snake. There are also three kinds of scorpion. Arachnophobics should stop reading now, for there are also black widow and araneus spiders in Crete, though instances of people being bitten are few. Finally, about 30 different types of shark are found in the Mediterranean, some of which are seen in waters around the island.
Crete’s most famous animal is the agrimi or kri-kri, a distinctive wild goat with large horns often depicted in Minoan art. Only a few survive in the wild, in and around Samaria Gorge and on the islands of Agioi Theodoroi off Hania and Dia off Iraklio.
You may spot a lammergeier (bearded vulture) – one of the rarest raptors in Europe, with a wingspan of nearly 3m – in Samaria Gorge or hovering above the Lasithi Plateau. A few golden eagles and Bonelli’s eagles are also recorded in these areas and elsewhere, including the Kato Zakros area. Much good work has been carried out by various organisations in rehabilitating raptors such as bearded vultures and eagles and releasing them into the more remote areas of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) and other ranges.
Crete is battling to protect its population of loggerhead turtles, which have been nesting on island shores since the days of the dinosaurs. The island also has a small population of the rare and endangered Mediterranean monk seal, breeding in caves on the south coast.
Crete blooms in every sense of the word. An estimated total of about 1750 plant species, of which around 170 are endemic, are said to make Crete their home. Crete’s gorges are mini-botanical gardens and their isolation has helped preserve many species.
Along the coast, sea daffodils flower in August and September. In April and May knapweeds are in flower on the western coast and the purple or violet petals of stocks provide pretty splashes of colour on sandy beaches. At the same time of year in eastern Crete, especially around Sitia, watch for crimson poppies on the borders of the beach. At the edge of sandy beaches not yet lined with a strip of hotels you’ll find delicate pink bindweeds and jujube trees that flower from May to June and bear fruit in September and October. In the same habitat is the tamarisk tree, which flowers in spring.
If you come in summer, you won’t be deprived of colour, since milky white and magenta oleanders bloom from June through to August.
On the hillsides look for cistus and brooms in early summer, and yellow chrysanthemums in the fields from March to May. The rare endemic blue flowers of Anchusa caespitosa, a type of Bugloss, are only found in the high peaks of the Lefka Ori (White Mountains).