Canna, Scotland

Canna ( Scottish Gaelic Canaigh ) is the westernmost of the "small islands", the part of the Scottish Inner Hebrides are. It is 4.5 km long. The island belongs to the National Trust for Scotland, which it operates as a farm. It has a predominantly Roman Catholic population of 19 people (as of October 2006).

Canna is known for its many species of birds including the Manx shearwater and puffin.

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

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

Until 11 November 2006 an action was to attract new islanders. Canna once had about 300 inhabitants.

History

In 1938, the island of Dr John Lorne Campbell ( 1906-1996 ), a Scottish historian and writer, were acquired. He bequeathed the island in 1981 the National Trust for Scotland along with his significant archives in Canna House on Scottish Gaelic songs and poetry, many historical photos, manuscripts and audio recordings. Campbell continued to live in Canna House (one of the two great houses of the island) until his death. His wife Margaret Fay Shaw, an American recording artist, continued his work until her death at the age of 101 years. In cooperation with the Hebridean Trust these archives should be made ​​available to the public.

2012, a so-called Cursing Stone ( stone curse ), the upper stone of Bullaun was discovered on the cross of Canna Canna on. The stone bears on its top is a simple Greek cross inscribed.

Wildlife

The house rat endangered bird life, but especially the endemic Canna mouse. Due to the increasingly warmer winter they had proliferated. 2005 began commissioner of the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society 150 representatives of this species and they spent in the Edinburgh Zoo. After more than 4,200 traps were set up, covering the entire interior of the island at a distance between 50 and 90 meters; Piper also were brought from New Zealand to the island. The last rat was spotted in the spring of 2006, on June 7, 2008, the island by the Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell was officially declared rat- free. However, the nature conservation adviser to the National Trust, Richard Luxmore wants to wait two more years until he joins this list. The project cost nearly 500,000 pounds sterling.

After the rat problem was solved, the island has suffered since the 2010s from the effects of a very large rabbit population. The animals eat animals such as cattle and sheep, the food away and cause a variety of crop damage. Through traps, bait and hunting, the population is now to be reduced to an acceptable size.