Taro and Jiro

Common card · No. 363468

Taro (タロ; 1955–1970) and Jiro (ジロ; 1955–1960) were a pair of two Sakhalin Husky brothers who survived for eleven months in Antarctica after being left behind by the 1958 Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Due to poor weather conditions, the expedition was unable to airlift out 15 dogs, who were left chained and with only a few days' worth of food. Of these 15, seven of the dogs died on the chain, six of them disappeared, and two, Taro and Jiro, successfully overwintered and were discovered by the next research group the following spring. The dogs became a media sensation after their discovery, and became Japanese symbols of perseverance and fortitude. Jiro remained in Antarctica and died there as a working dog in 1960. Taro was brought to Japan, where he died in 1970. Both of their bodies were taxidermied and placed on display. Several monuments to the dogs have been erected in Japan.

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