So, you are thinking about moving to Antarctica. I don’t blame you! The world has been a strange place this last year and many of us want to avoid people altogether. If you ask me, I love the idea of moving to a place where it’s just me and my dogs. Doesn’t that sound like absolute paradise? As much as you may be itching to move far far away with your dog though, bringing your dog into Antarctica is just not realistic, so I guess we may all have to start watching Zillow for some deserted islands to buy.
Bringing your dog into Antarctica
Okay, so we aren’t really going to talk about bringing your dog into Antarctica. I mean, it’s a continent with a maximum of 4,000 people living in it at any given time, not exactly the place you head off with your sweet pet, but speaking of Antarctica, I’ve learned some really interesting things about it recently.
Yes, I may have spent an inordinate time searching for a dream place to move to with my dogs and in one of my many dream-filled searches on what kind of magical place I could move to, I actually learned some cool things about dogs and Antarctica. Let me tell you about them.
Dogs played a big part of the exploration of Antarctica
Sled dogs were a big part of the exploration and overall history of Antarctica. They were used to help explorers reach the South Pole in the early 1900s and they were the backbone of these and hundreds of other expeditions on the continent.
These were not “pet” dogs as we all enjoy in our lives, but working dogs who made a significant impact in the exploration of a continent that was relatively unexplored before.
Dogs are no longer allowed in Antarctica
In the 1980s as part of the Environmental Protocol called for any and all species that were not native to Antarctica to be removed from the continent. This protocol was created for the conservation of Antarctic plants and animals. While dogs had been incredibly helpful throughout the history of study in Antarctica, it was for the best. There was concern that dogs could transmit diseases (for example, distemper) to the local seal population. The last dog left Antarctica in 1994.
You know what though, as a dog lover, I don’t even mind that dogs aren’t allowed in Antarctica. As much as I love science, I like being warm more and I like the idea that my dogs are warm too! The average temperature is anywhere between 14.0°F to −70°F, no thank you!
So let’s all send a collective thank you to those hero dogs that helped to discover new parts of Antarctica. And be thankful that we get to be home in the warmth, cuddled up with our canine kids!
This was the last of our traveling the continents with your dog series. We hope you enjoyed them. To see the others go to our blog main page.
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