Creatures Great and Small - Cretooryn Mooarey ’s Beggey

Rabbits generally thrive on the Calf, aided by work to reduce the numbers of rats or "longtails" which are said to have arrived from a ship wrecked there long ago and which would take young rabbits for food. The Calf was the property of the Lord of Mann in medieval times and it was used as a coney warren – a rabbit farm. Rabbits were being collected from the Calf by 1670 and had probably been already long established by that time. Ferrets were used to catch the rabbits and entries for ferrets, and meal corn to feed the rabbits, appear regularly in the Castle Rushen accounts.

The abundance of rabbit and sheep dung on the Calf provides the formidable looking Minotaur Beetle with an easy living. This large rotund black dung beetle excavates underground burrows in which to bury droppings for its larvae to feed on. Its name comes from the three horn-like protuberances pointing forward from just behind the head of the male, reflecting the horns of the bull-headed minotaur of Greek legend

The Green Tiger Beetle is a fierce hunter of other insects and is one of the common species found here. The Calf is also a good place to watch insect migration, as recent Calf wardens have observed large concentrations of different species of butterflies there.

Plant life

Similar to the coast bordering the Sound, the virtually tree-less Calf is dominated by heathland and coastal grassland. The heath provides good cover for nesting birds and is covered with a vivid purple heather bloom in late summer. One of the more unusual spring flowers is Spring Squill a tiny, pale blue relative of the Bluebell. Also of interest is the colony of Elecampane near the mill. Other plants include Thrift, Scurvy Grass, Sea Campion and Sea Scentless Mayweed

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