In 1957, the
Japan National Institute of Polar Research began a multiyear research program in Antarctica to coincide with the
International Geophysical Year. They established
Showa Station on
East Ongul Island in January 1957, and sent a team of 11 researchers and 19 Sakhalin Husky dogs as a sled team. Three of the huskies died during the expedition. One of the remaining 16 dogs, a white female dog named Shiroko, gave birth to a litter of eight puppies, bringing the entire dog team at the base up to 24 huskies. The team was expected to be replaced in February 1958, but the ship
Soya, carrying their replacement crew, became iced in and called for help from
Burton Island, an American
icebreaker. With
Burton Island's assistance, a helicopter rescued the team at Showa. The plans to deploy the second year team were abandoned, and the helicopter rescue only included the humans at Showa, as well as the white female husky Shiroko and her eight puppies. The remaining 15 dogs were left chained, with several days' worth of food accessible. In January 1959, a third team returned to Showa and sought to determine the fate of the dogs. Seven dogs had died while still chained, and eight had broken free. Six bodies were never recovered, but Taro and Jiro were found alive. These were the two youngest dogs on the team, at three years old, were brothers, and were the pups of Kuma, a dog that had also been on the chain at Showa, but had broken free and disappeared. The dogs that had died on the chain showed no signs of
cannibalism. It was theorized that Taro and Jiro survived by learning to hunt penguins and seals and to eat frozen marine life that surfaced in ice cracks. ==Legacy==