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The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after which animal?

Question #72254. Asked by bina86.

Related Trivia Topics: Animals  
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krzys44
Answer has 5 votes
krzys44
21 year member
104 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.
Dogs.

"The name "Islas Canarias" is likely derived from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning Island of the Dogs, a name applied originally only to Gran Canaria." quote from:

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_islands

Nov 07 2008, 2:48 AM
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PDAZ star
Answer has 3 votes
PDAZ star
Moderator
16 year member
127 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
The Canary Islands were named "Canaria" by the Romans due to the wild dogs living on the islands.

link https://gran-canaria-info.com/en/content/history/are-the-canary-islands-really-named-after-big-dogs

Response last updated by CmdrK on Jun 15 2021.
Oct 08 2009, 12:00 AM
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star_gazer star
Answer has 17 votes
Currently Best Answer
star_gazer star
22 year member
5236 replies avatar

Answer has 17 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Dogs.

The symbol of the Canary Islands is very interesting. The ribbon says "Oceano" because they are islands located in the Atlantic Ocean. The Crown is because they are a part of Spain, which is has a king. The 7 symbols on the shield represent the 7 main islands. But what about the dogs? People think that the Canary Islands get their name from the birds
canaries. But actually the canary bird received is named after the people the Canarii. All breeds of canary birds descend from the canary birds thatstill exist on the island. So why are there two dogs and not two canaries? When the Romans came to the Canary Islands they encounted not only fierce natives, but also their dogs. The latin word for dog is "canis" and the actually named one of the islands "canaria" because of these dogs. Because the people are proud of these dogs they included them in their symbol. Today we still use the word "canine" as a general term for a dog.

link http://www.ctspanish.com/communities/canarym/canary%20islands.htm

Nov 25 2009, 2:18 AM
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