A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water. Mandarin ducks are actually quite shy birds, often hiding beneath overhanging willows and usually only forming small flocks. One of these beauties is being hosted for more than 15 years in Alkyone, the Aegean Wildlife Hospital, which is based and operating on Paros island for more than 25 years!
In 2018, we granted Alkyone in order to create a first aid informative kit for injured animals and share it with schools, municipalities, forest office4s and port authorities across the Cyclades.
We are proud to announce that the CPF recently approved a new grant for the Wildlife Hospital of 5.000€ for covering Alkyone’s rehabilitation costs, while we try to identify additional funds through private donors to support them repair their facilities.
The Aegean Wildlife Hospital treats and rehabilitates hundreds of injured wild animals found in the region and encourages the protection of the fauna through Environmental Education. They are doing an excellent work and we are all grateful for their hard work to protect the wildlife all these years. They measure success more in terms of effective treatment and release of his small patients – the Hospital has an overall release rate of at least 60% and the animals and birds are always released to their natural environment or on migratory routes.
Alkyone is an accredited member of the European Wildlife Association while the number of awards that have been given to the Alkyoni reflect and highlight the immeasurable value of the work that has been done. All the work is carried out by volunteers and running costs are covered by donations of friends and members, fundraising and sponsorship.
photo credits: Alkyone, Aegean Wildlife Hospital