What is the Kri-Kri Ibex?

The Hybrid Kri-Kri Ibex crosses the “Kri-Kri Ibex” and a “Feral Goat”. According to current research, the kri-kri is not considered indigenous to Crete; it is thought to have been imported to the island during the Minoan period. The kri-kri is currently preserved in two wild sub-populations on Sapientza island and Atalanty island. By 1960, the kri-kri was under threat on Crete, with a population below 200. It had been the only meat available to mountain guerillas during the German occupation in World War II. Its status was one reason 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: poachers still seek them for their tender meat. Hybridization is also a threat, as the population has interbred with ordinary goats. It is unknown to most people that goats can swim and even move from island to island in search of food. Every year on Crete and the three small islands just offshore (Dia, Thodorou, and Agii Pantes), the government catches and removes part of the overpopulation of mixed Hybridized goats. Most probably, they are relocated to two places: a zoo area in northern Greece and a breeding island.
Relocated animals are hybridized goats, but some still have morphometric criteria of the Kri kri ibex, especially the black cross on their back. It is a public secret that part of that relocated animals, despite the EU law and restrictions for trade with that animal, are sold as hybrid goats and exported to North Macedonia and Croatia. In those countries, the hybrids could be hunted as “kri kri ibex”. A small number of these specimens are sold each year to private hunting area on the “Main Land” in Northern Greece and could be hunted in a high-fenced area for dog training.
The goats that have been moved are crossbred hybrids, but some of them still possess the morphological characteristics of the Kri Kri ibex. Despite EU legislation prohibiting the sale of these animals, some of them are still sold as “Kri Kri ibex” and imported to North Macedonia and Croatia. These “feral goats” or hybrids can be hunted as Kri kri ibex in these countries. A small number of the “feral goats” are sold annually to private hunting area in Northern Greece and hunted in enclosed areas for dog training. All of the hybrids outside of Greece originate from a zoo.