What is the name of those famous goats I always see in Instagram pictures of Crete? Where can I find Crete’s goats? The kri-kri is a wild goat on the island of Crete, also referred to as the Cretan wild goat, the Cretan ibex, or “agrimi”, which means “the wild one.” Its scientific name is Capra aegagrus cretica. The wild goat was brought to Crete by Neolithic-era settlers at least 8000 years ago. The goats migrated from the Near East along with Cretan settlers.
The kri-kri escaped human control in Crete and lived in the mountainous areas of the island. They were hunted even in Minoan times – we know this because Minoan art from over 3000 years ago shows that they were game. Homer also refers to an “isle of goats” in The Odyssey.
Where Can I See Kri-Kri in Greece?
Today, because of habitat loss for the kri-kri in Crete, their natural roaming area is small. The kri-kri lives now in the White Mountains, Samaria Gorge, and Agios Theodoros. The kri-kri is almost impossible to find on other islands, except in cases of inbreeding.
In 1960, the kri-kri population had slipped to 200 in the White Mountains, and so the Samaria National Park was created as a reserve for kri-kri in 1962. The reserve is now a major tourist attraction and is protected by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. As of 1996, kri-kri numbers boosted to 500.
What are Kri-Kri Like?
Kri kri generally avoid human contact and sleep during the day. Females live in herds up to 20 members and males move alone. In folk music in Crete, particularly in the Rizitika folk songs, the kri-kri are heroes. They represent the wild nature which is untameable.
What do the kri-kri look like? In stature, the kri-kri is bigger than the domesticated goat and has a light brown coat. It is identifiable by a dark string on the goat’s back and backward-curving horns. Like most mountain goats, the kri-kri can move easily on steep rock formations.
Kri-Kri as the Symbol of Crete
If you don’t get the chance to see a kri-kri in the wild, you will surely find it as the focal figure in souvenirs. In museums, you will also find it on ancient vases, coins, and masonry, because it was a symbol in Minoan civilization.
Kri Kri Ice Cream
Kri Kri (without a dash) is also the name of a famous ice cream chain that you are likely to find at your local corner store in Greece. The company opened back in 1954 when its founder, George Tsinavos, opened a small pastry shop in Serres.
From there, Tsinavos sold ice cream in the town of Serres, gradually growing the business. Kri Kri ice creams and the “Cassata” variety in particular, which was made from rich sheep’s milk, grew in popularity beyond the city’s borders. Today you can’t go through a supermarket or local grocery store without coming across their blue and red logo.
The brand doesn’t happen to have a relation with the goat, and Kri Kri’s ice cream is in fact made from cow and sheep’s milk from Serres in the north. But one can’t help but wonder if they were inspired by the iconic symbol from Cretan folklore.
