The Story of Ionas

On October 8, 2017, a little newborn pup appeared on a beach in Mykonos, clearly exhausted and showing signs of dehydration and anemia. Thanks to the immediate reaction of the people who found it and the quick intervention of a local veterinarian under MOm’s guidance, it boarded the ship with the aid of the Mykonos Port Authority and it travelled to Athens, where MOm’s Rehabilitation Team transferred it to the First Aid Station in the Attica Zoological Park. There, after many weeks of intensive care and observation by the veterinarian-in-charge, Professor Natassa Komninou of the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki, little Ionas (named after the gentleman who first located him), escaped the initial dangers of his health status and started growing at a fast rate. After a total of 114 days in the Station, on the 31st of January 2018, little Ionas was ready to return to his natural habitat, having reached a weight of 58 kilograms. He was released by the Rehabilitation Team in the core of the National Marine Park of Alonissos, Northern Sporades, and the first signs after his first encounter with the sea are very encouraging, since he immediately started exploring his surroundings and enjoying the crystal clear waters of the Park.

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For Ionas’ rehabilitation, we would like to thank the Professor of the Veterinary School of the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki Mrs. Anastasia Komninou for her dedication in the Rehabilitation Program all these years and her amazing cooperation with MOm’s biologists, as well as our volunteers for their precious help and the long nights they spent on our side taking care of Ionas. In addition, we would like to thank the Attica Zoological Park for the support it has been providing these past few years, the Green Fund, the Little Animal Hospital of Pikermi, the European Association of Aquatic Mammals, the Acquario di Genova, Mr. Ionas Galatis and Mrs. Katerina Topouzoglou for finding little Ionas and for their immediate reaction, the local veterinarian Mr. Nikos Triantafyllou for taking care of Ionas during the first critical hours away from his mother, the Mykonos Port Authority for facilitating his transfer to Athens, Mrs. Eva Tatsidou for the donation of medical material and supplies and everyone who contributed financially to this difficult effort. Finally, we would like to thank the National Marine Park of Alonissos Management Body for its cooperation and the Thalassa Foundation for its support.