Contents
        
 
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Feathers and Fins
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Cretan Ostriches |
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It may come as old news to some of you, but Crete is home to really rather a lot of ostriches….We’re not sure exactly why this might be the case, but ostriches pop up in the most unexpected locations, and not just in the form of sausages in Champion supermarket over Christmas time (which we found somewhat bizarre in itself). You’ll find ostriches in the municipal park, and there are a few ostrich farms on the island. We visited one wildlife park last summer near Georgeopoulis and were surprised by the variety of different types—we thought that once you’d seen one ostrich, you’d seen them all. Not so!
Ostriches are of course, native to Africa, but there are in fact
ancient associations between ostriches and Minoan Crete. Ostrich eggs
have been found at several archaeological sites, including Knossos,
Zakros and Palaikastro, indicating trading links between the Minoans and
the East. These eggs were often fashioned into ritual vessels –rhyton,
and elaborately decorated.
On the same theme, according to Kathimerini, Valentine’s Day came early
for ostriches on a farm on Kos. Unseasonably warm weather has incited
unseasonable passions—and ostriches are starting to mate months earlier
than usual.
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Fins |
| The BBC report that the Spanish
Navy has advised ships in the Strait of Gibraltar to slow down to try
and avoid colliding with whales. The Strait of Gibraltar is one of the
busiest shipping lanes in the world, it also attracts many sperm whales
who flock to the area to eat squid, and is the home of over 200 pilot
whales. Every year several whales in the region are injured by ships,
but the extent of harm caused is very difficult to monitor. This new
initiative in promoting ‘whale awareness’ is then extremely welcome and
we hope to see it extended to other vulnerable marine areas. |
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To find out more, try the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
website:
www.wdcs.org |
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The other whale conservation
initiative which grabbed our attention this month involves a company
that manufactures ’socially conscious tortilla chips’ (and we really are
not making this one up). Two ex-surfers from San Diego, US, came up with
the idea to make ’whale –tail’ tortilla chips—apparently the whale-tail
shape is ideal for dipping into salsa. The company has pledged 10% of
its profits to whale conservation. It has just made its first donation
to help fight marine pollution in Magdalena Bay Mexico, an area that
provides shelter for Pacific Gray Whales. Right on!!!! |
Other Things |
‘squid-u-like?’ |
This month’s weird and wonderful seafood tale has to be the capture of a colossal squid by New Zealand fishermen in the Antarctic. The squid is only the second such example of the species—Mesonychotentus Hamilton - that has been found whole. The squid measured 10 metres long and weighed in at nearly a ton.
According to reports, its eyes were as big as dinner plates, and if you wanted to make kalamari rings from it the rings would be as big as tractor tyres. The squid was caught in the Ross Sea by fishermen long lining for Patagonian toothfish. It was initially alive when hauled in, but has now been deep-frozen, and is residing in an extremely large freezer in a marine science laboratory.
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And Finns…. |
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Finally— and we do hope we don’t ruffle any feathers with this one, but
it seemed to fit in with our current train of thought– in February,
Rethymnon hosted an important cultural exchange between Finland and
Greece. This formed part of the celebrations of 100 years of democracy,
and several events, including an exhibition were organized. We also had
a visit from the Finnish ambassador. It is hoped that exchanges of this
nature will not only strengthen links between Greece and Finland, but
also will help to promote Rethymnon as an important international
cultural centre. |
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Gill Sardella and Maurice Barton |
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