Funk Island

Funk Island, 25 ha, is a flat, 15 m high, wedge-shaped granite island 800 m by 400 m lying 60 km off Newfoundland's northeast coast, east of FOGO ISLAND. The origin of the name is unknown, though it may have been inspired by the smell of the guano that covers much of the island. The west end is crowned by a 15 m cairn built by past visitors to this nearly barren spot. Jacques CARTIER visited the island, as countless other mariners did, for the abundant eggs and birds found there. Once a favourite hunting ground of coastal residents, both native and European, it was the last known breeding place of the GREAT AUK, Pinguinis impennis (extinct from about 1840). Here "factories" were set up and the birds were boiled, their valuable feathers removed, and the bodies discarded. Consequently the island was the source of most of the great auk skeletons preserved in museums around the world. Today, still populated by thousands of murres, terns and puffins, the island is a seabird sanctuary protected by law.