Rhodes blaze claiming lives of island’s iconic fallow deer
Rhodes’ iconic fallow deer – statues of which stand as emblems at the entrance to the southeastern Aegean island’s Mandraki Harbor – are being decimated by the raging wildfire tearing through forests, hillside villages and seaside resorts.
“We know there have been losses, but we don’t know the magnitude of the destruction, because we can’t visit the area with the fire still raging,” a regional official, Filimonas Zannetidis, said as photographs of dead deer, other wildlife and livestock emerged.
Rhodes’ massive wildfire began on Wednesday in western Apollonas, one of the main habitats of the Rhodian fallow deer, a protected native species whose population is around 5,000.
Animal protection groups have urged residents in areas where there have been sightings of deer fleeing the blaze to put out water, fresh fruit and vegetables, while warning that the animals should not be approached.
