Missing Alaskan dog miraculously returns home after dangerous 150-mile trek on the frozen Bering Sea
The 1-year-old Australian shepherd returned to his AK home with a big bite mark, likely from a seal or polar bear
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 1-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.
Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq's owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoogna, another St. Lawrence Island community in the Bering Strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Starlight turned up a few weeks later, but Nanuq, which means polar bear in Siberian Yupik, was nowhere to be found.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'INSEPARABLE' DOG, GOAT DUO TO LIVE OUT REST OF DAYS TOGETHER ON FARM
About a month after Nanuq disappeared, people in Wales, 150 miles northeast of Savoonga on Alaska’s western coast, began posting pictures online of what they described as a lost dog.
"My dad texted me and said, ‘There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales,’" Iworrigan said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She reactivated her Facebook account to see if it might be her wandering hound.
Australian shepherd Nanuq, middle, returned to its home in Gambell, Alaska, on April 6, 2023. Nanuq disappeared for a month and walked on the Bering Sea ice 150 miles to Wales, Alaska. (Mandy Iworrigan via AP)
"I was like, ‘No freakin’ way! That’s our dog! What is he doing in Wales?’" she said.
The events of Nanuq’s journey will likely always be a mystery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I have no idea why he ended up in Wales. Maybe the ice shifted while he was hunting," Iworrigan said. "I’m pretty sure he ate leftovers of seal or caught a seal. Probably birds, too. He eats our Native foods. He’s smart."
FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY TEAM RUNS WITH SHELTER DOGS TO HELP THE PUPS GET ADOPTED
She used airline points to get her dog back to Gambell on a regional air carrier last week, a charter that was transporting athletes for the Bering Strait School District’s Native Youth Olympics tournament.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iworrigan filmed the happy reunion when the plane landed at the air strip in Savoonga, with both she and her daughter Brooklyn shrieking with joy.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Except for a swollen leg, with large bite marks from an unidentified animal, Nanuq was in pretty good health.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Wolverine, seal, small nanuq, we don’t know, because it’s like a really big bite," she said.