canna

Canna (Canaigh)
	Ruins of Coroghan Castle ( An Coroghon ) at the east end of Canna
Waters	Atlantic Ocean
Archipelago	Inner Hebrides
Geographical location	57 ° 3 '43 " N , 6 ° 33' 10" W Coordinates: 57 ° 3 '43 " N , 6 ° 33' 10" W.
length	7 km
surface	11 km²
Highest elevation	Càrn a 'Ghaill ; 211 m
Residents	12 (2011) ; 1.1 inhabitants / km²
	Location of Canna south of Skye

Canna ( Scottish Gaelic Canaigh ) is the westernmost of the "Little Islands" that are part of the Scottish Inner Hebrides in the Highlands . It is 7 kilometers long. The island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland , which operates it as a farm . In 2011 twelve people lived on Canna. The population is predominantly Roman Catholic .

Canna is known for its numerous species of birds, including the Atlantic shearwater and the puffin .

The highest point on the island is the Càrn a 'Ghaill at 211 meters; it is in the eastern part of Cana. Neighboring islands are Haiskeir of Canna and Sanday .

Ferries to the island come from the mainland port of Mallaig and continue to Rum , Eigg and Muck .

A campaign to recruit new islanders ran until November 11, 2006. Canna once had around 300 residents.

history

Canna cross

Uaigh Righ Lochlainn and Beinn Tighe are ancient sites on the island.

In 1938 the island was acquired by John Lorne Campbell (1906-1996), a Scottish historian and writer. He bequeathed the island to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981, along with its significant archives in Canna House of Scottish Gaelic songs and poetry, many historical photos, manuscripts and voice recordings. Campbell continued to live in Canna House (one of the island's two large houses) until his death. His wife Margaret Fay Shaw, an American musician, continued his work until her death at the age of 101. In cooperation with the Hebridean Trust , these archives are to be made accessible to the public.

2012 was a so-called on Canna Cursing Stone ( curse stone ), the chief stone of Bullaun on the cross of Canna, discovered. A simple Greek cross is carved on the top .

Wildlife

The black rat threatened the bird world, but especially the endemic canna mouse . Due to the increasingly warmer winters, they had increased significantly. In 2005 agents from the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society caught 150 rats and brought them to Edinburgh Zoo . After that, over 4200 traps were set up, covering the entire interior of the island at a distance of between 50 and 90 meters; Pied Piper from New Zealand were also brought to the island. The last rat was sighted in the spring of 2006, on June 7, 2008 the island was officially declared rat-free by the Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell . The National Trust's conservation advisor Richard Luxmore, however, wanted to wait two more years to agree with this view. The project cost nearly 500,000 pounds sterling .

After the rat problem was resolved, the island has suffered the consequences of a very large rabbit population since the 2010s . The animals eat away the food from farm animals such as cattle and sheep and cause various damage to the fields. The population should now be reduced to a manageable size through traps, bait and hunting.

literature

John Lorne Campbell, Hugh Cheape: Canna. The Story of a Hebridean Island. 4th edition. Birlinn, Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 1-84158-200-X .
The Guardian , June 7, 2008, p. 15.