Mykonos Peter the Pelican

Location: Town

The Pelican of Mykonos is called Petros (Peter) and is an integral part of the island. It has rightfully become the mascot of the island.

You can encounter the cute creature as it strolls at its own unhurried pace through the town's many alleyways, although it is particularly fond of the old port and the Alefkandra areas.

Everyone in Mykonos, including visitors from abroad, adores and admires the bird.

Petros the Pelican has been officially declared the mascot of Mykonos.
He had made Mykonos his home since 1954.
The original mascot passed away after spending thirty years on the enchanting island.
Its loss was deeply mourned by the people of Mykonos. Without wasting much time, they introduced a substitute (or more than one).

The pelican is the cynosure of all eyes as far as the island of Mykonos is concerned and the saga of Petros lingers on. Mykonos' many waterways provide the cute creature with the perfect setting to indulge in fun and frolic, entertaining residents and visitors who never seem to have enough of him.

Legend has it that more than 40 years back, a Mykonian fisherman stumbled upon a wounded pelican. The man provided the cute creature with medication, and once he regained his strength, he decided to set him free. Surprisingly, the pelican did not fly to its destined abode. With every passing day, the bird became a celebrity.

It came as no surprise that when the Mykonos pelican died way back in 1986, the whole of Mykonos went into mourning. It took a person of the stature of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis to come to the rescue of Mykonos grieving populace; the compassionate woman donated another pelican to the island, Irene. It is said that the Hamburg Zoo had also donated a pelican named Petros.

A few years back, there was an instance of another injured pelican found in Mykonos by the local people who nursed it back to normal. They named the Pelican Nikolas. Nowadays, not one but three pelicans wander around Mykonos harbor.