While researching the Denali post, I discovered that Denali National Park is the only national park in America with a working kennel.
They park currently employs 32 adorable sled dogs. Here are their names, listed by litter (oldest to youngest):
- Cassin, Fin, Spur, Sultana (Climbing Routes Litter)
- Loon, Skeeter, Timber, Trout (Wonder Lake Litter)
- Lava, Pyro, Tephra, Tuya (Volcano Litter)
- Aliqsi, Kavik, Nuna (Iñupiaq Litter)
- Lucor, Mixtus, Sitken, Sylvie (Bumblebee Litter)
- Cache, Carpé, Koven, Opus, Tatum (Freighting Litter)
- Annie, Banjo, Lucky, Polly, Redtop (Mining Claims Litter)
- Clove, Munter, Prusik (Knots Litter)
Here’s a short video about how the sled dogs are named. The honor of naming new litters tends to go to retiring park employees, and they’re asked to choose names that are short, easy to say, and related to either Denali or Alaska somehow.
Which sled dog name do you like best?
P.S. After they retire, the Denali sled dogs are adoptable!
Image: “Rest Break” in the Denali Sled Dog Kennels NPS photo gallery
UPDATE, 6/29/15: The 2015 litter arrived a few weeks ago, and all 8 puppies now have names. Name suggestions (inspired by the “Find Your Park” campaign) were crowdsourced via social media, and here are the 8 winners: Wilder, Venture, S’more, Vista, Honor, Solace, Disco and Summit. (Isn’t it weird that no Denali sled dog had ever been named “Summit” before?)