Greenland: Tasilaq – Greenlandic Huskies

Everywhere in the settlement of Tasilaq there were Greenland Husky dogs, we even got lucky to witness the feeding process in the town’s outskirts where most dogs live – a freshly killed ring seal was cut and chopped a into pieces and fed them raw to the hungry dogs – an absolutely surreal show! Greenland Husky is a unique and very pure breed of working dogs in the eastern Greenland. The purity is rigorously maintained and no import of any other dogs are allowed. It is thought the the dogs came from Siberia about a 1000 years ago with Thule people, the dogs also share DNA characteristics with the gray wolf (legends have it that female huskies were taken out to tundra to be impregnated by wolves, but it’s likely just a legend). The Greenland Huskies are famous for their stamina and strength and ability to pull cargo across very rough terrain. In fact, it was the Greenland huskies that Amundsen used to reach the South Pole! Greenland huskies come in various fur cover from black to blonde and don’t have blue eyes. Male dogs are sizably larger than females. They spend all their lives outside and feed on raw meat. And of course we had to hold the adorable little puppies.