By Josie February 9th, 2023
Greece has so much more to offer on top of its stunning history and breath-taking coastal areas
There are over 900 different species of wildlife and over 5,000 species of flora within its borders.
Much of the country experiences a Mediterranean climate (hot, dry summers and winter rainfall), especially the islands.
Higher regions of the western and central parts of the country, and the mountainous parts of the Peloponnese, experience an Alpine climate.
It’s estimated that there are currently around 700 brown bears living in Greece.
For the past five years, Callisto has been offering intrepid travelers the chance to track brown bears in the Pindos Mountains, and using tourism as a tool for conservation in the process.
The word “lynx” is thought to come from Greek mythology where Lynceus was said to be so keen sighted that he was able to see through the earth.
The Eurasian lynx is Europe’s third largest predator after brown bears and wolves.
The wolf plays an important role in Greek religions, but their roles vary enormously.
It is often related to the Greek gods Zeus, Apollo, Artemis and Letp; and they also seem to act as divine messengers of the gods, notably of Apollo.
Up until 1990, jackals were classified as a harmful species, and, as a result, dozens of them were killed each year.
WWF refers to the Golden Jackal as “a shy and misunderstood resident of the Greek countryside.”
The Mediterranean monk seal is an earless seal of the tribe Monachini.
They are the only earless seals found in tropical climates.
In fact, it is in Greece where roughly half of the monk seal’s global population, 250 to 300 individuals, lives and breeds.
Loggerhead turtles are the living relatives of a group of reptiles that have existed for a 100 million years.
The sex of Loggerhead hatchlings is determined by nest temperature: hot temperatures result in more females, and cool temperatures result in more males.
A basking shark is a harmless plankton-eating fish.
Its slow movements, large size and docile nature make it appear more like a whale than any form of man-eating shark.
The most impressive feature of the basking shark is its mouth, which opens up to 3 feet wide.