To travel long distances fast, the Inuit used sleds pulled by dogs.
For thousands of years, the Inuit bred and trained dogs (later called huskies) that were perfect for this work.
Their dogs had four inches of fur that kept them warm even in blizzards. They were also strong. Working in teams of seven or eight, dogs could pull a sled loaded with as much as 800 pounds of cargo.
Dogs also helped in the hunt. Using their well-developed sense of smell, they could track polar bears. When the dogs found a bear, a hunter released their harnesses and let the dogs run toward his prey. With the polar bear distracted by their biting and barking, a hunter could sneak up on the enormous animal and kill it with a knife before it had a chance to attack.
Inuits used dogs called huskies to pull their sleds when they needed to travel long distances in the severe Arctic environment. The dogs also helped during hunting by cornering and distracting the prey, while on a walrus hunt.
