2 CORFU PANORAMA English_1

Lagoons
The Eurasian otter is a small animal which lives on the banks
of rivers and lakes, in clear water. It is one of the rarest and
most endangered mammals.
It is an indication that the water is clear and it is protected
in all countries where it lives. Fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
invertebrates, birds and small mammals are its food.
In Corfu you can find the famous flamingos, too. There are
more than 500 of them with white, black and pink colours
on their feathers, known as flamingos, and they make every
lagoon special.
They love tranquility, so if someone wants to see them, they
have to be absolutely quiet. Flamingos stay in the shallow
waters of lagoons for about four months.
Korission Lagoon
The Korission Lagoon is the largest lagoon and the most
important wetland of the island. It is located in the southern
part of the island, near Argyrades. A narrow strip of earth
separates it from the Ionian Sea and creates two separate
sand beaches, Halikounas and Issos.
This place is protected by the Natura Treaty and it covers an
area of 6.000 acres and, apart from the Lake of Korission, it
also includes the coast, the forest of Cedars and a large
number of dunes.
This place attracts 126 kinds of birds, such us cormorant,
widgeons, egrets, flamingos, ducks and thousands of
butterflies, too.
The lagoon is a very important place not only ecologically,
but also archeologically.
A mandible of a hippopotamus and small pieces of bones
were found here, as well as a stone artifact in Paliavlakos
where the lagoon and the sea meet.
Alykes Lagoon
The Alykes Lagoon has been known since the 16th century
and it was named after the Alykes (salines) which existed
there until 1988.
It is a peninsula of about 200 acres.
Thousands of flamingos come to the ecosystem of Alykes
twice a year, every spring and autumn, to rest before their
Apart from the ecological interest, the Korission Lagoon has an a
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