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Tuckered out: Early Antarctic explorers underfed their dogs
An historic Spratt s dog cake from Canterbury Museum s Antarctic collection. Canterbury Museum 1982.147.2
CHRISTCHURCH
.- Its one of the iconic images of early Antarctic exploration: the heroic explorer sledging across the icy wastes towed by his trusty team of canine companions.
But new research analysing a century-old dog biscuit suggests the animals in this picture were probably marching on half-empty stomachs: early British Antarctic expeditions underfed their dogs.
In a paper just published in Polar Record, researchers from Canterbury Museum, Lincoln University and University of Otago in New Zealand analysed the history and contents of Spratts dog cakes, the chow of choice for the canine members of early Antarctic expeditions.