Do sled dogs live in Antarctica?

Answer 1

No animal lives on Antarctica, on the continent -- as Antarctica is a polar desert, and no animals can survive there: it's too cold and there is no food chain. However, sea mammals and sea birds breed on Antarctica's beaches, because there are no land predators.

There are four species of penguins that breed on the continent's beaches: Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo and Emperor.These animals are sea birds and live at sea

Other birds which breed on the coastal fringes of the sub-Antarctic islands, visiting Antarctic waters, include various species of albatross, cormorant, fulmar, gull (kelp gull), petrel, sheathbill, skua, and the Arctic tern which migrates from the Arctic to the Antarctic every year.

Seals which live in the Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic continent include the Southern Elephant seal, Crabeater, Antarctic Fur, Leopard, Ross and Weddell seals.

Whales known to frequent Antarctic waters include the Blue whale, Fin, Humpback, Minke, Orca, Southern Right, Seiand Sperm whales.

Fish include the Antarctic cod, Patagonian toothfish and Icefish. Squid also live in the Antarctic waters.

Answer 2

No dogs live in Antarctica. In fact, no native animals live there; it's too cold.

Dogs have been brought to Antarctica, to work. However, it was discovered that the dogs could pass disease along to the seals that come to the beach areas to birth their pups. So dogs were ultimately banned and removed from Antarctica.

According to the newsletter "Cold Science," from 1986 to 1993, there was much discussion and action over dogs in the Antarctic. Specifically:

"In 1984 at a meeting in Madrid, the countries with Antarctic programs decided to phase out the use of dogs. In 1986 New Zealand's dogs left Scott Base for good. 'I think at the time we didn't really realize it was the end of an era'.... The whole business of their removal wasn't just with the Scott Base dogs.' The British, who had used their dogs very intensively through the early 1970s, didn't take their dogs out until 1993."

There are no canids(dogs) on mainland Antarctica. However, there was one native canid, the Falklands Wolf or Warrah, a fox like animal, whose closest relative was the South American Maned Wolf, that lived on the Falkland Islands, which is considered part of the Antarctic ecozone. Two species of canids have also been reintroduced onto the Falkland Islands, the Gray Fox and the Culpeo, a South American canid that superficially resembles a fox. At one point in time, feral domestic dogs lived on mainland Antarctica after they were abandoned by a Japanese expedition, however, most of these dogs died, unable to survive in the harsh environment. They were a breed of dog known as Sakhalin Husky or Karafuto-Ken, which is now extinct.

Answer 3

There are about 17 mammal species in Antarctica. All the mammals in Antarctica are seals, dolphins and whales.

Answer 4

Dogs are no longer allowed on the Antarctic continent: potentially dogs spread disease to seals that sun on the beaches.

Answer 5

No.

Dogs are no longer imported as working animals on Antarctica. This is because they can transmit diseases to breeding sea mammals and can terrorize all breeding animals.