The first impression that Gaidouronisi or Chrissi island, gives to its visitor may be that of a dry island, with the exception of the largest cedar forest in Europe, but in reality it is a place that has a lot of life.
If one walks from one end to the other, one will understand this and will see the signs of this life, which of course in the past was many times greater.
A total of over 120 species of birds have been reported on Chrissi island. Most are migratory species that pass through, rest and leave, but there are others that have been introduced by humans and in the past one could find large populations of them.
Among them are rabbits, (wild rabbits) partridges, pheasants, (hares seem to have completely disappeared). In fact, in some places on the island there are still large cages made of net where they used to keep mainly partridges and pheasants, before they were released. Today, hunting them is prohibited and for this reason the cages have been abandoned.
In other places you will see special watering troughs for birds but also for animals that are still used. In the past, shepherds transported their sheep there to spend the winter, while they told us that there were also small pergolas that were watered with the water of the few wells that had been dug on the territory of the island of Chrissi.
In fact, those places even now stand out and testify that they had received cultivation care.
The wild artichokes that grow in parts of the island are also the reason why even today residents of the coastal areas opposite the island of Chrissi visit it in the winter.
The island's fauna also includes rodents, two species of samian and a subspecies of Cretan lizard.
The sea turtle Caretta caretta has been observed many times on the island, but no nesting has been reported, and the monk seal Monachus Monachus also often comes to its shores to sunbathe.