Famous Dogs of Polar Exploration

Famous Dogs of Polar Exploration

From Balto and Togo of the 1925 Serum Run to Boo Boo, Bothie and the dogs of Antarctica - the hall-of-fame sled dogs whose exploits made history.

Sled dogs advanced our knowledge of Antarctica for some ninety-six years, from the first 'Southern Cross' expedition of 1898-1900 (under Carsten Borchgrevink) to 22nd February 1994, when the last dog team was flown out and driven the final 300 miles to an Inuit settlement in Arctic Canada. Along the way, certain dogs and exploits earned a place in the hall of fame - here are some of their stories.

  • Sled dogs aided Antarctic exploration for 96 years (1898-1900 to 1994)
  • The 1925 Serum Run: 20 mushers, ~150 dogs, 1,085km in 5.5 days to save Nome
  • Togo & Seppälä ran the longest, most dangerous leg - ~420km in total
  • Boo Boo logged 10,474 miles and moved 4,675 tons of supplies
  • Bothie the Jack Russell: the only dog to reach both the North and South Poles
  • Taro & Jiro's survival inspired the film 'Eight Below'

Helge & the waypoint commemorations (Amundsen, 1912)

Some of the famous dogs of exploration are honoured on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's aeronautical charts. Of the 12 waypoints between Christchurch and McMurdo, 6 are named after dogs - Uroa, Mylius, Per, Frithjof, Lasse and Helge - and 5 commemorate the ponies Jimmy Pigg, Bones, Nobby, Snippets and Jehu. The 12th, the last before the Antarctic mainland, is named Byrd after the American Admiral. Helge's story is particularly poignant: when Amundsen made it to the South Pole with 17 dogs, Helge was weak and was the only one killed there. Only 11, including Uroa and Mylius, completed the return journey.

Igloo (Admiral Byrd, 1930s)

Admiral Richard Byrd's constant companion was Igloo, an ordinary Wire Fox Terrier - a stray taken in because Byrd loved dogs. Igloo joined Byrd's first Antarctic expedition in 1928, had to be specially dressed for the polar blizzards, and made news as part of the first flights over the North and South Poles. A book simply titled 'Igloo' appeared in 1931. He was interred at the pet cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts, beneath an iceberg-shaped marker inscribed 'Igloo - He Was More Than A Friend'.

Osman & Stareek (Scott, 1909-12)

Frank Debenham, Scott's young geologist, told tales of two remarkable lead dogs from the Russian postal service. When all twelve dogs except the lead dog Osman fell through a crevasse, the strong Osman valiantly held them while Scott abseiled to the rescue. Stareek, deemed too old, was sent north but chewed through his trace and ran south; eighteen days and 200 miles later he was found alive on the sledge, having survived at least twenty days with no food - 'a feat that should be preserved in the annals of travel.'

Togo, Balto & the Great Serum Race (1925)

The 'serum run' or 'Great Race of Mercy' saw 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relay diphtheria antitoxin across 1,085km of Alaskan wilderness to Nome, covering the distance in a record five and a half days and saving the town from an epidemic. Balto led the final stretch into Nome and became a household name, but many mushers considered Leonhard Seppälä and his lead dog Togo the true heroes, having run the longest (146km) and most hazardous leg across Norton Sound - almost twice the distance of any other team. Statues commemorate the event from Central Park to Japan, Sweden and Norway, and the modern Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race honours the run each year.

Darkie (Fuchs, 1950s)

Vivian 'Bunny' Fuchs led the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition that first crossed Antarctica in 1955-58. Earlier, during three years at Stonington, he made major journeys with his lead dog Darkie, a Labrador-looking dog. Of Darkie crossing a bridged crevasse, Fuchs wrote: 'He advanced cautiously in the fashion of a heraldic lion, each paw extended as far as possible to test the surface in front of him.' Darkie later led a team at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and was homed in Cambridge, where he pulled Fuchs on his bicycle.

The Moomins, Steve, Taro & Jiro, Boo Boo, Bothie & Droopy

Other hall-of-fame dogs include The Moomins, a team of ten dogs who floe-hopped and swam back to the mainland after being lost on the bay ice in 1958; Steve, who travelled 80+ miles alone across fjords and glaciers to rejoin his hut; and the Sakhalin Huskies Taro and Jiro, who survived a year chained in Antarctica and inspired the films 'Nankyoku Monogatari' and 'Eight Below'. Boo Boo, born at Halley Bay in 1961, ran 10,474 miles in his career and had a secret 'Lost Mountain' named after him. Bothie, Ranulph Fiennes' Jack Russell, was the only dog to travel to both Poles (his polar suits made by NASA), and Droopy survived a dramatic crevasse rescue by Mick Pawley on Pourquoi Pas Island.