Locking horns with an island ibex

White cliffs, rocky shores and an azure sea provide a stunning backdrop for a summer holiday with a difference as a Nordic hunter sets his heart on a kri-kri hybrid

- THOMAS LINDY NISSEN

The rugged cliffs along the Adriatic are as steep as they are tranquil. Throughout the arid landscape, there are herds of goats, but among them there is something else too — a special creature known as the kri-kri. It was initially thought that kri-kri, with light brown coats and dark rings around their necks, were a true subspecies of wild goat, but we now know they are actually just a long-established type of feral. Humans have been fascinated by kri-kri for thousands of years and some believe they were worshipped in the ancient world.

Kri-kri were once common all around the Aegean, but these days, they are endangered and are only found on Crete. In part, the Nazis are to blame because during the German occupation in World War II, there was nothing else for guerilla resistance to eat while they were hiding in the mountains. It is illegal, as you can imagine, to stalk kri-kri. However, one of the greatest threats to the 2,000 that remain is hybridisation with ordinary feral goats, and it was one of these hybrids that Jens Kjaer Knudsen, the former president of the Nordic Safari Club, and I had the pleasure of stalking in Croatia when spring was blooming into summer.

Long game

There is a feeling among some that stalking kri-kri hybrids is easy, and they would possibly be right if it was simply a case of hunting from a boat, but due to dense bushes, you almost always need to go ashore. For our trip, our guide Milutin Zampera had hired a local boatman to take Jens and I along the coast in the hope of spotting an animal. Occasionally, it can be a long game as it isn’t possible to land due to the swell. When that happens, Milutin notes down which rock the animal disappears behind in order to return and search for it from the land side.