Thanks to its rocky terrain and caves, the uninhabited island of Formicoura, a dot on a map southeast of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, was a vital refuge for endangered Mediterranean monk seals, loggerhead turtles, and countless seabirds. That was, until the island was discovered on social media in 2021 by happy tourists who went to any lengths to snap photos of the seals, according to a study of the island’s Monacus monacus population.
“We counted 51 boats last Monday – and that’s around the island, which is just 400 metres,” photojournalist Dimitris Tsiddis, who is carrying out special studies of the habitat, told Kathimerini newspaper, adding that he has also seen visitors “swimming into the cave to take a photo with the seal pups.”
Ioannis Jobos, a conservation officer with the NGO iSea, explains that research by the Milan-based Tethys Institute has recorded 30 seals living and breeding in this particular area.
“This place, like the entire Ionian Islands, is also a bastion of biodiversity,” he added, referring to the area that is set to be protected under the Natura 2000 Convention.
Geovas says the problem isn’t the visitors, but their behaviour: “We’re not talking about organised wildlife watching, we’re talking about people actively looking for seals.”
Two years ago, iSea, Tethys, the Blue Marine Foundation and the Municipality of Lefkada wrote to the Ministry of Environment, recommending a series of measures to protect Formykoura’s residents, but nothing has been done yet.
[Dimitris Tosidis]
