Islet of Thodorou, Chania – Crete | 26 Sep 2014
35.537°N 23.931°E
Agioi Theodoroi are two uninhabited islands off the coast of western Crete. The bigger of the two is named Agios Theodoros, also called Thodorou by the locals. In the 1930’s the municipality of Agia Marina opposite the islands, together with the hunting association of Chania decided to make the islands a nature reserve. In 1935 one male and two female Kri-kri goats were caught in the Samariá Gorge – their natural environment – and released on Thodorou so that they could breed with integrity as there were no other goats on the island. Later on this initial small herd of goats was reinforced with further Kri-kri and today the isolated community of goats at Thodorou has been used to provide Kri-kri goats to zoos around the world. In 1583 the Venetians built two small fortresses on Agios Theodoros to prevent pirates from using the islands and to defend the coast of Crete.