Zoë
For the past two months, we have had the privilege of living with a little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) who was hurt and found in a very poor state outside of Mr. Christofis’ Hotel Irini in Livadia.
A hotel guest found her injured on the patio outside of his room. He took the bird to Mr. Christofis who gave her to Tasos Aliferis, our Island Doctor and Mayor, who promptly brought her to us along with oral rehydration salts and a syringe. When we held her to administer the water infused with salts through a syringe that she desperately needed, we saw her frightened, in a state of shock, exhausted but instinctively trying to survive. She captured our hearts, earned our respect and so she became known as Zoë meaning “Life”. We immediately contacted Mr. Philippos Dragoumis of the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital who suggested that since Zoe was in such poor health she could not survive the long voyage to the island of Aegina where the Hospital is located. Zoe was hungry, dehydrated, exhausted, missing feathers along the top ridge of her entire neck and, most disconcertedly, was unable to use and stand on her left leg. Mr. Dragoumis advised us to feed her fresh, raw fish twice a day along with sufficient water to replicate her natural diet. He also reminded us that Zoë would naturally miss the October migration to Africa due to her anticipated long period of recovery. Making a special place in our home for her has been a real joy. Since she is immobile, we take her out during this beautiful autumn weather for feeding and she is alert to every sound of nature including the nightingales, rednecks, owls, and night herons that recently left Tilos for Africa.
Zoë has been more than a patient to us: she has actually been a teacher. We watch her relentless struggle to find the life she previously knew, her refusal to give up, her creative ways of balancing herself and moving about in her nest by using her left wing in place of her left leg and her courage in accepting us as a potentially threatening species when we handle her and feed her. Her proven adaptability and character during this transitional period following her injury from which Dr. Dragoumis said she might not survive is a good lesson for us all. It serves as an inspiration to us to accept the reality of life’s adversities and work constructively to improve the conditions that confront us. I try to imagine that in a few months she will hopefully be free to join her family of birds as they return to our island to give life to another generation. We will have to wait and see.
Little Bitterns are the smallest members of the Ciconiiformes family which include herons, storks and ibises. They breed in extensive or small reed beds, overgrown reedy ponds and ditches. They are summer visitors to Europe and they winter in Africa. They nest on a platform of reeds often raised above water-level in reedbeds or bushes. They are very reclusive and often retreat from danger by climbing and running instead of flying. They frequent Tilos and can be seen where they used to live by aquatic ecosystems before they were dried out for tourism development or agricultural use.
We would like to thank Nikitas Asimakis (Municipal Water Co. employee) who was the first contributor of fresh fish for Zoë, followed by Michalis Papagregoriou (Waste Disposal Plant employee) and Michalis Kypreos (Eleni Supermarket owner). Pavlos Charalambakis (Municipal bus driver) made a special trip with the Tilos bus to ensure Zoë’s food supply. Their genuine eagerness to provide for this little bittern reflects the growing sensitivity on the island to preserve our Aegean wildlife heritage.
Hunting Tales
Lifting the twelve year old hunting ban on Tilos continues to be on the priority agenda of the General Secretary of the Periphery of Southern Aegean. A long list of hunting clubs, a few conservation organizations, and our Association have been invited by the General Secretary to attend a meeting to resolve the General Secretary’s political problem of satisfying recreational hunters, most of whom do not reside on Tilos but desire to come to the island, kill off certain wildlife, and then leave the broken flora and injured animals on the island to return to their undisturbed homes. The issue of lifting the hunting ban on Tilos has significant scientific, legal, and most importantly ethical and moral implications.
On the evening of October 7, 2004, following a rainy day, a fire of suspicious origin broke out in an inaccessible northwest part of our island. According to the fire-fighters on the scene, the most probable cause of the fire was incendiary material propelled by one or more flare guns that could only have been fired from a boat in the sea since the area is virtually impossible to access from land due to its steep, hard terrain, complete absence of walking paths or roads and the threatening presence of sheer cliffs. Our Tilos volunteer fire-fighters risked their lives in combating the fire which seriously threatened the village of Megalo Horio at one point when the evening wind began blowing from the north. The suspicious fire began at night so that it could not be combated from the air since the airplanes and helicopters of the Dodecanese Fire Department do not fly at night. What made the fire more suspicious in origin was the fact that the previous day’s rain created a high level of ground humidity and water retention thus requiring a strong and enduring fiery material beyond cigarettes, for example, to create the conflagration that ensued. The most distressing fact was when more than one unhappy resident said in the presence of non-resident witnesses that this was a criminal act of arson representing the revenge of hunters who wanted to punish us for resisting their attempts to open hunting on Tilos. We hope that such declarations are untrue. What was discouraging was that a few pro-hunting members of our small community tried to capitalize on the fear generated by the firefighters’ conclusion of arson to promote their cause. This climate of fear does not build a constructive road of dialogue in preparation for our upcoming meeting with the pro-hunting groups.
The majority of Tilos residents who support the hunting ban are asking for your help. Please, consider sending an e-mail to the Secretary General of the Periphery of Southern Aegean in support of the continuation of the hunting ban on Tilos. The General Secretary’s e-mail address is: [email protected] or by signing our Petition to the General Secretary of the Periphery of Southern Aegean at: http://www.petitiononline.com/proact02/petition.html. Please, consider also joining our Association. Your membership support will add strength to our efforts and assist us in responding to the public opinion campaign that the hunting clubs have engaged to gain support for the lifting of the hunting ban on our island.
Tilos Park Board of Directors
Our first elections were concluded at the General Assembly of the Founding Members of the Tilos Park Association (TPA) on October 26, 2004, in the Livadia Community of Tilos. It is with great pride that we present to you our first Board of Directors.
1. President: Anastasios Aliferis, MD, Mayor of Tilos
2. Vice President: Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos
3. Scientific Director: Aimilia Drouga, Phd
4. Finance Director: Spyridon Logothetis
5. Legal Director: Eleftherios Levantis
6. Strategic Development Director: Konstantinos Sakellaris, Vice Mayor of Tilos
7. Press Director: Panagiotis Vouros
8. Marketing & Business Development Director: Michael Kypraios, Member of the Tilos City Council
9. Purchasing Director: Elena Pissa
We congratulate and thank our newly elected Board Members for their spirit of volunteerism in upholding the aims of the TPA.
We Need Your Help
Please, consider becoming a Member of the Tilos Park Association. Your membership will add strength to our voice in the preservation of the natural heritage of Tilos.
To receive a membership application package, please respond to this e-mail by filling out and returning the following form. Thank you for your consideration and your support.
First Name: …………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Last Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Are you 18 or older (Yes or No)? ………………………………………………………………….
Profession: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
City: ……………………………….......................................................................
Region/State: ………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Postal Code: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
Country: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
E-mail: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Telephone: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Fax: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
If you missed any of our past Newsletters, you can read them by visiting the following address on the Internet:
http://tilos-park.typepad.com/tilos_park_newsletter/2004/11/index.html
(Please, copy and paste this address on your browser.)
Comments