#agrimi

A proud beast (“Agrimi” in Greek) free on Psiloritis together with the Eftihis Protopapadakis.

This Cretan and domesticated ibex followed him wherever he went like a dog and that was the most valuable ever had  Eftihis Protopapadakis. Was delivered to the then US President Harry Truman "as friendship and gratitude for the help of the Marshall Plan".

But the Cretan goat was not the fate had been waiting. The symbol of the freedom of Crete, from the mountains of Psiloritis found in the cage of a zoo of Washington where he became exhibit. Then, it changed its name as of beast turned into Cre-Cre, a word derived from the combination of English words "cre-tan crea-ture", ie, cre-cre.

Ένα περήφανο ελεύθερο αγρίμι στον Ψηλορείτη μαζί με τον Ευτύχη Πρωτοπαπαδάκη.

Αυτός κρητικός και εξημερωμένος αίγαγρος  τον ακολουθούσε όπου κι αν πήγαινε σαν το σκυλάκι και ήταν ότι πιο πολυτιμότερο είχε ο Ευτύχης Πρωτοπαπαδάκης.  Παραδόθηκε στον τότε πρόεδρο των ΗΠΑ Χάρι Τρούμαν “ως ένδειξη φιλίας και ευγνωμοσύνης για τη βοήθεια του σχεδίου Μάρσαλ”.

Όμως, ο κρητικός αίγαγρος δεν είχε τη μοίρα που περίμενε. Το σύμβολο της ελευθερίας της Κρήτης, από τα βουνά του Ψηλορείτη βρέθηκε στο κλουβί ενός ζωολογικού κήπου της Ουάσιγκτον όπου έγινε έκθεμα.

Τότε, άλλαξε και το όνομά του αφού από αγρίμι μετατράπηκε σε Κρι-Κρι, μια λέξη που προέρχεται από τον συνδυασμό αγγλικών λέξεων “cre-tan crea-ture”, δηλαδή, cre-cre.

Cretan Agrimi, Kri Kri

Locals call it Agrimi (Capra aegagrus cretica) which means 'wild one'. Its greatness, gallantry and speed are some of the characteristics that have made it a symbol of the free Cretan soul. It has been a valuable companion to rebels and partisans and was their only available meat during the German occupation in World War II.

It is the only endemic wild mammal in Crete and Greece and the largest on the island. The Kri Kri has a light brownish wild coat with a darker band around its neck. It has two horns swept back from the head which in the male animal are up to 90cm long and in the past were used to make arches. It is considered an endangered species because its population has decreased dramatically.

The Kri Kri name was coined after an Agrimi was given to U.S. President Harry Truman as a gift in the early 1950's."Come on, my kri-kra-ki" was combined with Crete and so "Kri Kri" stuck.