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KOS
Plants and Animals

Cities in KOS

Kos city

Popular destinations GREECE

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ChiosCorfuCrete
HydraKalymnosKarpathos
KefaloniaKosLefkas
LesbosMykonosNaxos
ParosPatmosPeloponnese
PorosRhodesSamos
SantoriniSkiathosSkopelos
SpetsesThasosZakynthos

Plants and Animals

Plants

In ancient times, Kos was covered with forest. But for centuries, the islanders cut down forests for houses, ships and defences. This created an almost treeless landscape. However, there is a lot of shrubbery on Kos.

Rosemary, KosRosemary, Kos Photo: Jane 6592 CC 4.0 no changes made

There are also many herbs, like rosemary, lavender and thyme. Of the few trees there are cork oaks, laurel trees and pines. Where the soil is fertile, olive trees, almond trees and citrus trees have been planted.

Animals

Partly due to deforestation, the animal world is small. Big game has disappeared. On Kos there are lizards, turtles and a few flamingos. The sea is also poor in food. The most common fish are tuna, mackerel and sardine.

Turtle, KosTurtle, KosPhoto: Konstantinos Kalaentzis CC 4.0 no changes made

Sometimes you can still see dolphins and seals from the ferries that sail between the islands.


Sources

Facaros,D / Rhodes & the Dodecanese
Cadogan

Griekse eilanden
Van Reemst

Hendriksen,B / Rodos, Kos en dodekanisos
Babylon- De Geus

Hermans, F / Rodos en Kos
ANWB

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated February 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info