By Bond Robertson 
– I shouted: This is not possible! It’s our dog!
Mandy O’Regan says she could hardly believe her eyes when she saw this photo of her dog on social media.
The 1-year-old Australian Shepherd has been missing for nearly a month, after disappearing from the family’s home in Gambill, on Alaska’s Saint Lawrence Island.
Now it has finally been found, but Eurygan says one question remains:
– What is he doing in Wales?
Found a whale in the woods: – Completely wild
Traveled 270 kilometers
Nanuq had run off with Starlight, one of the family’s other dogs. She was found two and a half weeks later, in the neighboring village of Savonja, about 60 kilometers away.
But Nanuk was still missing.
Another week passed before Origen finally received the message she had been waiting for.
– Dad texted me and said, “There’s a dog that looks like Knock in Wales,” she said Anchorage Daily News.
The father was not talking about the British country known for its green meadows and sheep farmers, but about a small settlement on the Bering Strait, at the tip of Alaska. There, residents posted pictures of the dog on social media, hoping to find the owner.
The fact that Nanuq had managed to travel a full 270 kilometers while flying a crow on its own was impressive in itself, but there was also another obstacle in the path of the adventurous dog.
Wales is located on the mainland.
Long Journey: Gambell’s Nanuq disappeared on St. Lawrence Island (red ring) and was found in Wales on the North American mainland (red ring). Illustration: Google Maps
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Hunt seals
How Nanuk managed to cross hundreds of kilometers of sea is a family mystery.
– I have no idea how he ended up in Wales. Maybe the sea ice moved while he was fishing, said O’Regan.
Nanook was then flown back to Gambill on a chartered plane, with a tutor from Wales. In a video shared on Facebook One can see the happy family reunion with the dog.
Despite spending a month in the bitter cold of Alaska at the end of winter, the family dog was still doing well.
– I’m pretty sure he ate what was left of a seal or caught a seal. Maybe birds too. He’s really smart.
Desire for adventure: One-year-old Nanuq has traveled further than most, despite his short life. Photo: Mandy Iworrigan via AP/NTB
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Significant bite marks
Iworrigan says Nanuq had a lump on his leg when he was found, with two large bite marks that she couldn’t identify.
– It could be a wolverine, a seal, or maybe a baby Nanuk. We’re not quite sure, because there are really big bites out there, she tells the paper.
In the Siberian Yupik language, Nanuk means a polar bear – the animal after which the dog is named.
The family told the newspaper that they are happy to have Nanuk back, though they will continue to wonder how he was able to accomplish such a feat.
If dogs could talk, he’d have a great story, says O’Regan.