Mute Swan
By Fotis Samaritakis
Cygnus Olor (Mute Swan)
Just a few kilometres from the city of Chania lies the artificial lake of Agyia. Since 2018, a pair of mute swans has successfully bred in the area each year. Their notable achievement includes raising up to 7 cygnets in a single year, a testament to their dedicated care.
Around the end of October each year, the swans depart for other locations and return in February.
The photo captures two of the cygnets born in 2022, now in their ‘puberty’ stage. Once they reach maturity, the adult swan couple expels them from the lake, as the lake can only accommodate one breeding pair.
In one of the remote canals of the lake, these two swans have sought refuge, presenting me with this captivating scene. Light filters through the dense foliage, delicately illuminating these magnificent creatures.
The fauna of Crete
The Cretan endemic butterfly Zerynthia cretica
Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus Barbatus)
Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus)
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)
Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) (Hieraaetus fasciatus)
Eleonora's Falcon
The European Rabbit or Coney
Giorgalidiko: Domestic Horse, North-western European Horse
The Cretan Badger
Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos)
Cretan wildcat
Butterflies and Moths of the island
Cretan Tracker: Europe's Oldest Hound, a Gift from Zeus
Cretan shrew
Kri-kri, the Cretan Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus cretica)
Least Weasel
Bats
European Fat/Edible Dormouse
The Balkan Terrapin or Western Caspian Terrapin (Mauremys Rivulata)
Cat Snake
Balkan Whip Snake
Marginated Tortoise (Testudo marginata)
Greek turtle
Water Snake
European Ratsnake or Leopard Snake
The Bullfrog
The European Green Toad
Common Kingfisher
Caretta Caretta (Loggerhead Sea Turtle)
Coleoptera
Fossil Vertebrates of Crete
Hippopotamus creutzburgi
Athene cretensis
Elephas chaniensis
Endemic Pleistocene mammals
Deinotherium giganteum