Denali National Park introduces adorable new sled dogs, live Puppy Cam

Sled dog puppies at Denali National Park and Preserve can now be watched through their live Puppy Cam, National Park Service (NPS) officials announced on Thursday.Raised at Denali Sled Dog Kennels, this year’s litter includes five Alaskan husky puppies that were born less than a month ago on May 3.Two of the pups are females named Squall and Storm, while the other three are males named Graupel, Dew and Fog.They were recently spotted via their Puppy Cam during their feeding time on Saturday.Park officials said the pups’ weather-themed names come from the diverse and dramatic ways water affects the weather.As sled dog pups in every litter are named after a theme, the NPS noted that the names for this year’s “Weather Litter” are in honor of a 100-year partnership between the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Kennels, in which mushing rangers of Denali collected and shared weather data with the weather agency.The Denali Sled Dog Kennels is one of the oldest sled dog kennels in the U.S., the only sled dog kennel in the NPS for more than a century and the only dog sled kennel within the federal government, according to park officials.“This special group of dogs is tasked with preserving unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations,” the NPS said on their website.It noted that the sled dogs perform necessary wintertime duties throughout Denali, such as giving park rangers the most effective means of patrolling the Alaskan wilderness during the long winters.To provide the best sled dogs for these duties, the NPS said the Kennels look for certain qualities as they create each year’s litters. For example, some physical characteristics include long legs to help the pups move through the snow, compact paws to help prevent ice from building up between their toes and robust coats and tails to keep them warm.Ideal characteristics...