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I found these images on my hard drive. Thought I would share them. Cannot say how old they are, since they were in a file marked Old Windows Images, and I have been using a MAC for 5 years. In this series of photos, you will see a polar bear come upon some sled dogs tethered to a stake. Oh boy…..Normally you would think that a dog tethered to a stake would be lunch for a polar bear, but these pictures tell a completely different story. From what I can see, the polar bear just wanted to play and...

Dog teams coming into Unalakleet for a break are hungry after long stretches on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Kelly Maixner’s team gets a steak snack several times a day to keep them fat and happy. “New York strips it looks like. I’ve gotten cases of New York strips and rib-eyes from Three Bears," he said. "Ray Redington taught me that trick." Iditarod veterinarians estimate the canine competitors burn up to 12,000 calories a day. Jeff Deeter of Fairbanks said mushers have a strategy on how to get those calories back into the dogs during the race. “I like...

There was a noticeably different vibe at the finish line of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as spectators waited for winner Thomas Waerner. “It’s very quiet. You don’t feel the energy as much just because everyone is not crowding around and able to cheer them in,” said Samantha Robler, who’s lived in Nome for three years. Because of concerns about the novel coronavirus, the City of Nome canceled Iditarod-related activities and urged people not to come into town. Still, a few hundred people ended up lining Front Street as the Norwegian musher crossed under the burled arch. Robler...

It’s hard to imagine how one would go about watching the Iditarod in person. The iconic route stretches more than 1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome, and the race can last for weeks. The record for fastest winning time, set in 2017, stands at 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds; the slowest winning time, in 1974, was nearly 21 days. Logistically, it isn’t a spectator sport. But for those of you yearning for that sweet, sweet Venn diagram of outdoors, winter, ice and snow, and sled dogs, the Iditarod offers something infinitely more exciting and more hands-on...

Early this morning, as Aliy Zirkle (bib #13) was making her way towards the Nulato checkpoint, a snowachiner repeatedly attempted to harm her and her team. One dog received a non-­life threatening injury. Upon arrival at the Nulato checkpoint, Zirkle reported the incident to race officials and a report was filed with the Alaska State Troopers. Contact was also made with the village police officer in Nulato. Jeff King (bib #61), who was behind Zirkle, experienced a similar incident 12-­miles prior to his arrival at the Nulato checkpoint. This incident resulted in the death of Nash, a three-­ year-­old male....

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has apologized to an Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race musher whose dog died at a checkpoint. PETA last month accused Fairbanks musher Paige Drobny of leaving her dog unattended and said she should be criminally prosecuted. …

In these series of photos, you will see a polar bear come upon some sled dogs tethered to a steak. Normally you would think that a dog tethered to a steak would be lunch for a polar bear, but these pictures tell a completely different story. From what I can see, the polar bear just wanted to play and get a little brotherly love. The professional photographer who took these photos said, the bear came back every night that week to play with the dogs. Excellent photos, taken by Norbert Rosing when he was in the wilds around Canada’s Hudson...

KUUJJUAQ, Nunavik - ''I have nothing, I have nothing,'' Johnny Munick cried out, remembering the day in 1960 when his team of sled dogs, in their harnesses and ready for a hunting trip, was shot by government authorities. The incident was part of an extermination of Inuit huskies - and, as a result, the abrupt end of their owners' ability to provide for their families - that took place from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. Arms flung wide, an anguished figure in a heavy black parka, the elderly Inuk was standing on the auditorium stage following the Jan. 19...

BERLIN — A Maine man training his sled dog team for a long distance race in northern Maine was seriously injured Saturday night when a snowmobile slammed into him on a trail outside of Berlin and continued on without stopping. Investigators have few leads in the case, which left Stephen Hessert, 51, of Cumberland, Maine, in stable condition with serious leg injuries. He was airlifted from Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin to the Maine Medical Center Saturday night. “We had two officers working though the night, following and exhausting leads,” said Capt. Tim Acerno. “We’ve got nothing.” Anyone with information...