Balto Facts: Details About The Famous Sled Dog

It was the cruel winter of 1925, when an American state, Alaska, was seriously suffering from the recent outbreak of diphtheria, a deadly disease of the nose and throat.

Children and youngsters of Nome, Alaska, were the worst sufferers. The plights of Americans were worsening, as the medical supplies were getting delayed.

It was only a miracle that could save these people from dying and the miracle came in the form of sled dogs. These sled dogs raced the 600 mi (966 km) trip across Alaska to transport medical supplies to the needy.

A half-wolf and half-husky, Balto, got a chance to lead the team of dogs at the last leg of the relay and thus, became one of the most famous sled dogs in the world.

Learn more about Balto and his interesting story, that will make you love this American hero even more than before!
 

Who was Balto?

Balto is regarded as a national hero for making significant contributions in American history.

Balto, a Siberian husky, was born in 1919 and belonged to the musher and breeder, Leonhard Seppala. This dog later went on to become a national hero, six years after his birth, with his involvement in the 1925 serum run to Nome.

Balto received his name after the famous Norwegian explorer, Samuel J. Balto.

This dark brown-eyed dog had black and white imprinting all over his body with partial white markings on his belly and the tip of his muzzle.

In 1925, when Nome, Alaska, was struck with the cruel endemic, transporting medical supplies was a huge challenge. The Alaskan weather was unfortunately not favorable. The air was too windy and the sea was too frozen for ships to sail through.

Thus, it was practically impossible to transport necessary medical shipments either by air or by sea. This left the Alaskan administration with only one option; to send 20 mushers with their dogs to travel more than 600 mi (965.6 km).

In a hurricane-power wind that ran 62 mph (100 kph) and temperatures dropping to 22 F (30 C) below freezing point, these dogs moved sled to sled in an effort to transport medical supplies, including lifesaving vaccines.

The final leg of the relay race to the Alaskan city of Nome, was led by the musher Gunner Kaasen and his lead dog, Balto.

Balto was responsible for transporting diphtheria antitoxic from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome, Alaska, which was the last leg of the relay. This leg was completed in two detours, first from Anchorage to Nenana via train and then to Nome using the dog sled.

Balto lived a happy life and died on March 14, 1993, in Cleveland Zoo. He was 14 years old.
 

Why was Balto famous?

Balto was a Serbian sled dog who rose to popularity for his contributions during the 1925 endemic of Alaska.

Balto is believed to have been six years old when he ran this relay race for delivering medical supplies. Despite his inexperience in sled racing, this wonderful husky successfully traveled to Nome to deliver the 300,000 units of serum on January 27, 1925. He ran for 55 mi (88.51 km) of the total 660 mi (1062.17 km).

You can spot a bronze statue of Balto in New York City's Central Park, America. He is the flag bearer of the entire team of dogs that were involved in the sled relay.

Balto's body is mounted with his pelt and is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, to tell his story to the world.

Every March, sled dog teams gather from all over the world to participate in the Iditarod trail, which follows the same track route of the 1925 serum run to Nome.

While many Americans believe that Balto was the real hero of this campaign, natives of Alaska have their own views about it.

Even though Alaskans love Balto for the amazing contributions he made, it was Togo who is often considered a local superhero.

In this medical emergency, time was an essential factor. The musher, Leonard Zappala, and his lead dog, Togo, literally raced against the time to make sure the supplies reached the last leg of the race.

Togo had to travel the most dangerous leg of the race and to save time, the team decided to take a shortcut. The shortcut was really risky because the ice was pretty unstable and was vulnerable to breaking at any moment.

Despite knowing the risks, Togo ran and successfully led the team of his dogs to the last leg of the race, where Balto and his dogs were waiting to take the supplies forward.

As Balto and his team of dogs were the last ones in the final stretch point, Balto became widely popular all around the world for delivering supplies.

Moreover, while Togo was 12 at the time of the run, while Balto was six years old, which makes Balto equally deserving of gaining this fame and recognition. Togo later retired in Poland Spring, Maine.
 

Family Members Of Balto

Balto is a warrior Siberian husky with a remarkable history, which makes every American cry with tears of joy. While Americans and every dog lover would love to know more about this young superhero, there is, unfortunately, no official documentation of Balto's date of birth or about his parents. Read more about the companion of Seppala.

In the book, 'The Cruellest Miles', Seppala once claimed that Balto was six when he ran the race. This makes his date of birth to be around 1919. However, in some unofficial web sources, Seppala also documented him as a three-year-old at the time of the run.

Owing to his boxy anatomy, Balto was neutered when he was six months old. This means Balto died without any offspring.

In early march, Balto was declared severely suffering from physical ailment by the Cleveland Zookeeper, Captain Curly Wilson. Balto was later announced dead on March 14, 1933, by Dr. R.R Powell, a famous veterinarian and trustee of the Balto committee.

What was the 1925 serum run to Nome?

In January 1925, Curtis Welch declared that Nome, Alaska, was struck with a lethal diphtheria outbreak that could potentially swipe off a majority of the population of children and youths. The only medicine or antidote that could have stopped this endemic was in Anchorage, Alaska.

Winters in Alaska can be highly challenging, with weather dipping much below freezing and winds that are wild and disruptive. Realizing that sea and air were not the possible transportation alternatives, doctors and the Alaskan administration considered moving the medicines using multiple dog sled teams.

Thus, the serum was transported via rail from Anchorage to Nenana and then to Nome. This run is also called the Great Race of Mercy and also became widely known as the 1925 serum run to Nome.

More than 20 mushers took part in this serum run. Some of the major mushers in this sled race were Norwegian, Gunnar Kaasen, Leonhard Seppala, and Charlie Olson.

Kaasen decided to lead the entire team even in the heavy snow. They had to struggle with blizzards and extreme weather conditions that fell 116.6 F (47 C) below freezing point. In some sources, temperatures of around -23.8 F (-31 C) are mentioned.

Did you know...

Inspired by this event, many dog lovers name their puppies Balto. If you, too, have decided to name your little doggie Balto after reading this article, then you have made a good decision. Here are more interesting Balto facts revealed for you to be inspired by this little Angel.

Originally Gunnar Kaasen and Balto were not a part of this famous antitoxin run. However, after an order from Governor Bone, more people were recruited to cover the last leg of the relay quickly.

At the request of Summers, Kaasen began the last leg with his lead dog Balto.

It was later claimed by Seppala in a 1927 'New York Times' article that Balto was co-leading with another dog, called Fox.

The first preference for the lead dog of the last leg was Fox. Despite this recommendation by Seppala, Kaasen chose Balto in the lead position, which is how Balto became a part of history.

Balto's body was persevered by the famous taxidermist, Frank Tobin.

In his book, Leonhard Seppala also noted that it should have been Togo who received special recognition, for covering the most dangerous part of the journey.

Balto's mount, displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, was initially exposed to bright artificial light, which caused serious damage to the mount. Realizing that extreme light was causing fading of the pelt, bright lights are now replaced with low-light conditions.

Kaasen had a team of 13 dogs, but only six dogs survived after more than two years of touring the entire country, including Alaska Slim, Fox, Moctoc, and Billy. These dogs lived alongside Balto, first at the Brookside Zoo and then were later moved to the Cleveland Zoo after the Cleveland businessman George Kimble saw the dogs.

In 1995, an animated movie inspired by the life of real Balto was premiered, which starred Kevin Bacon and Phil Collins.