taxon. Many herbs of the Vikos Gorge and other areas within the park were regarded to have medicinal properties and were once harvested by local healers, colloquially referred to as "Vikos doctors" (, "Vikoiatri"). These herbal healers used special recipes that were often copies of ancient Greek recipes of Hippocrates or Dioscorides and became famous beyond the borders of Greece. The plants used in these recipes include the lemon balm Melissa officinalis, Tilia tomentosa, the spearmint Mentha spicata, the gas-plant Dictamnus albus, St John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum, absinth Artemisia absinthium, the very popular Sideritis raeseri, known colloquially in Greece as “mountain tea”, and the elder bush Sambucus nigra. A chemical screening of these native plant species has shown that a high number of them are characterized by biologically active ingredients. A collection of 2,500 dried species of local plants and herbs is exhibited in the local natural history museum in the village of Koukouli. Fauna The Vikos–Aoös National Park preserves one of the richest mountain and forest ecosystems in terms of wildlife diversity in Greece. Numerous species of large mammals such as wolves, foxes, wild horses, and roe deer are found in the area year-round. Otters and wild cats live around the area of Mt Tymphe, with the latter being quite rare. The Pindus range, of which Vikos–Aoös is part, is home to the endangered brown bear and lynx, and is also the southernmost point of their European habitat. One of the park's special attractions is the existence of the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), a rare species that lives at higher altitudes far from human activity, especially on the rocky cliffsides of the gorges, for example in Megas Lakos, a secondary ravine of the Vikos Gorge. A total of 121 bird species have been observed in the park, with twenty-six of them being considered of conservation priority. The area hosts fifteen raptor species and populations of bird species with limited distribution in Greece, such as the hazel grouse, Tengmalm's owl, wallcreeper and willow tit. Two bird communities that inhabit the subalpine and forest ecosystems are considered among the most complete in Greece: The first community includes species that nest and feed in the subalpine area, like the alpine chough, shore lark, western rock nuthatch and alpine swift, while the second comprises birds of prey like the griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture, peregrine falcon and common kestrel, that search for food in a