You might have seen the breaking news recently that Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance that sunk 107 years ago has been found more than 3km (10,000ft) deep at the bottom of the Weddell Sea…

His expedition and those of other great polar explorers capture the imagination of many an adventure seeker since. An important team mate on all these missions were their dogs who helped Antarctic teams like Scott and Shackleton’s explore the icy continent.

Caption: Endurance sinking, 1915. Canterbury Museum 1971.53.3. No know copyright restrictions

From Kid the Courageous to Osman the Great, the dogs who pulled sledges and provided companionship on the great Antarctic expeditions all had tales of their own.

But you know what Shackleton’s dogs were called?

Nearly all of them had a name including:

Rugby, Upton Bristol, Millhill, Songster, Sandy, Mack, Mercury, Wolf, Amundsen, Hercules, Hackenschmidt, Samson, Sammy, Skipper, Caruso, Sub, Ulysses, Spotty, Bosun, Slobbers, Sadie,
Sue, Sally, Jasper, Tim, Sweep, Martin, Splitlip, Luke, Saint, Satan, Chips, Stumps, Snapper, Painful, Bob, Snowball Jerry, Judge, Sooty, Rufus, Sidelights, Simeon, Swanker, Chirgwin, Steamer, Peter, Fluffy,
Steward , Slippery Elliot, Roy, Noel, Shakespeare, Jamie, Bummer, Smuts, Lupoid, Spider and Sailor….

PHEW! Rufus and Jasper we get… but sidelights and slobbers?! We’d love to know which dog name you would pick for your adventure pup! Tell us via our social post.

P.S If dog names aren’t enough do you want to know what they called the dog’s houses built out of snow?… “dogloos” … We’re done!

Facts from Earnest Shackleton, South: The Story of Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Expedition Photos from Canterbury Museum

Make sure you check out a fantastic online exhibition by Canterbury Museum about it here.

Inspired to journey to Antarctica? Check out some incredible expeditions you can join here!