This is a fascinating episode to begin the podcast series with! We discover that huskies have been supporting us humans for up to 15,000 years. What’s more, they’ve saved countless lives and even helped us to make some of the top scientific discoveries of the twentieth century. These days, huskies are most likely to find themselves in living rooms and on Instagram and there certainly are some good and bad things about that. 

So, make yourself comfortable and come with me on a journey over 30,000 years that will take us to Siberia, Alaska, Greenland, Antarctica and Ireland.

Disclaimer I am still a newbie to podcasting, so please accept my sincere apologies that sometimes the sound is not perfectly engineered.  Practice makes perfect so please do let me know your feedback on it and rest assured I am working to improve my skills!

 

Organisations featured

Dublin Husky Rescue (soon to be renamed as Husky Rescue Ireland): https://www.dublinhuskyrescue.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dublinhuskyrescue

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dublinhuskyrescue/ 

The story of what happened to Lucky the husky to whom I dedicate this episode. Sleep well little one: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnFBgc-ngcj/?taken-by=dublinhuskyrescue 

British Antarctic Survey: https://www.bas.ac.uk/

Mossy Earth: https://mossy.earth/

 

Recommended books

Geoff Somers: Antarctica: The Impossible Crossing http://geoffsomers.com/

Michael Smith: Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shackleton-Endurance-Conquer-Michael-Smith-ebook/dp/B00O0G17L6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536093437&sr=1-1&keywords=shackleton

Keith Walton and Rick Atkinson: Of Dogs and Men: Fifty Years in the Antarctic – Illustrated Story of the Dogs of the British Antarctic Survey https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogs-Men-Antarctic-Illustrated-British/dp/189781755X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536093374&sr=8-1&keywords=of+dogs+and+men

Robert Falcon Scott: Journals Captain Scott’s Last Expedition https://www.amazon.co.uk/Journals-Captain-Scotts-Expedition-Classics/dp/0199536805/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536095866&sr=1-1&keywords=robert+falcon+scott

Julie Karner: Roald Amundsen: The Quest for the South Pole https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roald-Amundsen-Footsteps-Explorers-Quest/dp/0778724689/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536095921&sr=1-3&keywords=amundsen+antarctica

 

List of resources this episode is informed by 

Articles

Germonpré, Mietje & Jimenez, Elodie-Laure & Sablin, Mikhail. (2016). Palaeolithic and prehistoric dogs and Pleistocene wolves from Yakutia: Identification of isolated skulls. Journal of Archaeological Science. 78. 1-19. 10.1016/j.jas.2016.11.008. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310879103_Palaeolithic_and_prehistoric_dogs_and_Pleistocene_wolves_from_Yakutia_Identification_of_isolated_skulls

Ancient Wolf Genome Reveals an Early Divergence of Domestic Dog Ancestors and Admixture into High-Latitude Breeds

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)00432-7 

Freedman, A. H., Gronau, I., Schweizer, R. M., Ortega-Del Vecchyo, D., Han, E., Silva, P. M., … Novembre, J. (2014). Genome Sequencing Highlights the Dynamic Early History of Dogs. PLoS Genetics, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004016

Freedman, A. H., & Wayne, R. K. (2017). Deciphering the Origin of Dogs: From Fossils to Genomes. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, 5(1), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110937

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/earliest-evidence-dog-breeding-found-remote-siberian-island

http://www.shwauk.org.uk/siberian_husky_history.htm

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/cnicholl/history.htm

http://www.shca.org/shcahp2d.htm

http://iditarod.com/about/history/

https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/environmental-protection/wildlife-and-plants-2/removal-of-the-sledge-dogs/

http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/transportation/ground-transportation/huskies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAV9CcDvGcc

https://www.tvn