An Australian Shepherd dog made an epic 150-mile journey through the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, including being bitten by a seal or polar bear, before returning safely to his home in Alaska, USA.
Mandy Iworrigan, owner of Nanuq of Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoogna, another community in St. Lawrence on the Bering Strait last month when the Australian shepherd disappeared along with another family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily reported. News.
Starlight appeared a few weeks later, but Nanuq, which means polar bear in Siberian Yupik, was nowhere to be found.
About a month after the year-old Nanuq went missing, people in Wales on Alaska’s west coast, 150 miles northeast of Savoonga, began posting photos of a missing dog on social media.
“My dad sent me a text saying, ‘There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales,'” Iworrigan said.
Nanuq’s owner reactivated her Facebook account to confirm if it could be her missing dog.
The specific adventures during Nanuq’s odyssey will forever remain shrouded in mystery.
“I have no idea how it ended up in Wales. Maybe the ice moved while I was out hunting,” Iworrigan said.
“I’m sure it ate seal carcasses or caught a seal. Probably birds too. It eats our native foods. It’s smart,” he added.
Iworrigan filmed their happy reunion last week as the plane touched down on the Savoonga runway.
Except for a swollen paw, with large bite marks from an unidentified animal, Nanuq is in good health.
Source: TSF
