Did You Know?

Posted by in , ,
Date: March 11, 2019 10:15 pm

Alison Lifka and her team

Did you know it is estimated that sled dogs use anywhere between 10,000-12,000 calories during one day of racing? Some people believe that figure is even higher!

To put that into perspective:

  • If the average sled dog = 50 lbs
  • And if the average adult = three times that amount, or 150 lbs
  • Then, that would be equivalent to a human using at least 30,000 calories in one day  

Here’s an interesting video that explains how slogs are able to endure long-distance runs:

Maybe They Were Born to Run

Why don't sled dogs get tired? A timely and fascinating explanation of the unique physiology of sled dogs to race long distances. Author, Minute Earth. (2017, May 3rd). Why Don't Sled Dogs Ever Get Tired?. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/SledDogScience

Posted by The Whitehorse Star on Thursday, January 31, 2019

 

***Teachers*** It is estimated that the average adult uses approximately 2,000 calories in one day. Have students research different types of exercises- walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rowing, etc.- and how many calories a human uses while performing those activities. Students can make predictions, graph their findings, and compare their results to the amount of calories that sled dogs use.