Desperate effort to save Sakhalin Laika from extinction on its native island

The ancient breed of sled dog - also known as Karafuto-ken - were noticed by Russian and Japanese explorers in Sakhalin which the native Nivkh people bred and use for winter transport. With big paws helping them run in snow, their muscular body allows them to drag over 70 kilograms of cargo, and they can cross long distances in a few days.

They were used by explorers who travelled to Franz Josef Land, the conquerors of northern Alaska, and explorers of the South Pole. For example, several ledges pulled by this breed were used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott in Antarctica. 

They were used in the Red Army due to their strength, stamina and brain. But their penchant for being fed on salmon is seen as the key to their almost catastrophic decline. 

The Soviet military found that feeding a Karafuto-ken was more expensive than feeding a horse. Soviet experts calculated that Sakhalin Laikas ate up to 4,000 tons of salmon a year, fish that could otherwise be exported. 

In the 1930s, the dogs were killed massively, starting a decline that now puts the breed in grave danger on the island. Despite this, sled enthusiasts are 'optimistic' they can revive the breed on Sakhalin.

Nikolay Chalin, a sled-sport enthusiast, said: 'We've already written to the governor and asked to give us a plot for a breeding station.' Dmitry Tretyakov, head of Wings of Sakhalin', said: 'We've already submitted papers to create a fund. The governor got interested in the breed.'