#AntarcticLog is a series of sciart comics by Karen Romano Young. You can find the originals here.

It’s on! What’s on? The Iditarod — 98 years after the history-making dog sled run, the dogs are off again, and that means it’s on. 

Dogs once the transportation of choice in the far south as well as the far north. 

They were key to Amundsen’s triumphant arrival at the South Pole and to Shackleton’s explorations… 

But the last dogs left Antarctica in 1994, the last non-native animals to be phased out other than humans. Many went home, or were re-homed.  But the dogs of polar destination towns still carry many traits. 

–Karen Romano Young is a writer, artist, deep-sea diver, and polar explorer. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram. Want to showcase your sciart? Consider writing a guest post for us.