Call of the Wild By Jack London

In a harsh and brutal environment like the Yukon territory Survival is the ultimate challenge!

If strength, courage and adaptability are key to survival, then our hero, Buck, stands a pretty good chance.

When Buck is stolen from his comfortable home in California and sold as a sled dog, he ends up working in the bitter cold of Alaska and Canada.

It’s not just the climate that’s changed, the rules seem to be different, too.

In this new environment, Buck has to change the way he  Eats  Sleeps  Relates to humans  Interacts with other dogs

Buck is smart, tough and alert. He learns quickly how to survive as a sled dog.  He even challenges Spitz, the lead dog.

No sooner has Buck adapted, though, than things begin to change again. New owners Heavier loads Dangerously thin ice None of these changes make life easier for Buck- or will they?

Background information  In August of 1896, gold- and lots of it- was discovered in Rabbit Creek in the Yukon territory of western Canada.

When the news of the find reached the United States, the Yukon gold rush was on!

  The gold prospectors, known as “Klondikers,” faced harsh conditions:Klondikers temperatures 20 degrees below zero   starvation and malnutrition long journeys on foot hundreds of pounds of supplies to transport In the late 1800s, settlers and explorers started using the dogs to help them explore remote areas, deliver mail, and look for gold.

Certain purebred dogs are commonly used as sled dogs.

Huskies, malmutes and Samoyeds have a protective outercoat and insulating undercoat, that lets them survive at temperatures as low as -70 degrees.