Stop the presses! There’s another animal live stream to get glued to, and this one features some adorable future heroes: the next generation of sled dogs at Alaska’s Denali National Park.
The Denali Sled Dog Kennels’ seasonal “Puppy Cam” is turned on when the newest recruits to the mushing squad are old enough to wander around and play on their own. This year’s litter was born May 3, and the cam went live May 30, introducing viewers everywhere to pups Storm, Squall, Graupel, Fog, and Dew.
The puppies at nearly 3 weeks old. Left to right, top to bottom: Squall (f), Storm (f), Graupel (m), Dew (m), Fog (m)
Filling the open spots of the squad’s retirees — when Denali’s dogs reach age 9, they move to private homes to live out their golden years — the puppies were named in honor of an important milestone. In 2024, the Kennels and the National Weather Service marked 100 years of the mushing rangers collecting weather data, so the “Weather Litter” puppies were all given monikers representing “the diverse and sometimes dramatic ways water influences our weather,” per a news release.
RELATED: 100 Years of Pup Power: Inside the Lives of Alaska’s Iconic Sled Dogs at Denali National Park
When they’re older and have gone through training, the newcomers will join the rest of the squad. Together with human rangers, the mushing dogs patrol help preserve and protect Denali National Park by patrolling over 2 million acres of federally designated wilderness.
As stated in the Wilderness Act of 1964, that designation is bestowed upon areas “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain” and it requires that there is “no use of motor vehicles or motorized equipment.”
That’s where the brave mushing dogs come in. They’re carrying on a centuries-old tradition in the state — long before the introduction of mechanized vehicles, native Alaskan families relied on sled dogs for transportation to travel, trap, and trade. Today, the Denali Sled Dogs serve as wise and reliable rangers.
“Sled dogs have hearts and brains that machines such as snowmobiles and airplanes do not. Every kennel’s ranger has a story of wise lead dogs helping them navigate to a patrol cabin in a white out or to avoid dangerous ice obscured under snow,” the National Park Service explains. “The dogs know this landscape well and they can provide invaluable wisdom that machines cannot. While a team of sled dogs is obviously far slower than an airplane or a snowmobile, they are arguably more reliable to operate in the extreme conditions of a sub-arctic winter.”
Each year, the Denali Sled Dog Kennels aim to either adopt or breed a new litter of future rangers, and each litter is given a certain theme. As a team, the mushing dogs are “tasked with preserving unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
Meet all of the Denali Sled Dogs. And if you’re interested in adopting a retired pup, you can fill out an application here.
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