Why Are Animals Important To The Crew

Throughout the expedition, the crew encountered many different animals that both helped or endangered the crew members. The animals were an important part of the expedition, in helping keep the crew alive, and sane. At different points in the novel some decisions had to be made about the animals, and although not all agreeable, were all beneficial to the crew members. In almost every chapter, there was some sort of animal encounter, and in this essay, I will be explaining why these animals and animal encounters were so important to the survival of the crew members.
During the expedition, the crew members encountered many different animals, which were very helpful to the crew members, but at other times, the animals presented a ton of danger
Chippy would keep the men entertained, when he walked along the tops of the dog kennels, drive the dogs wild. The dogs would also be harnessed up and the crew would have sled races. Sometimes the dogs would be set free, and would chase penguins. ‘As for the dogs, they could chase penguins and run wild without going too far’ - Pg. 21 Although very useful and fun, the dogs also presented some dangers to the crew members, for example, the dogs were part wild and could bite one of the crew members, or the dogs could (and probably did) attack one another, either injuring or possibly killing one another. The penguins were another beneficial animal to the crew, they would also entertain the crew, when McNiesh would play his banjo, the penguins seemed to be clapping along to the tune, the crew members would find this very funny and would get quite a ‘hoot’ out of the penguins. The animals provided so much use to the crew members, but some of the animals also presented many dangers to the crew. The seals could easily grab and pull a crew member underwater, if they weren’t paying enough attention. The dogs could easily kill a crew member if their ‘wild side’ was to ever completely overtake the dog. The seals meat also could have killed the crew if not cooked well
Throughout the novel, so many penguins and seals were killed and used to provide food for the crew. The penguins and seals were eaten quite often since they didn’t really have much else to eat. The younger penguins were eaten more often than the older ones, because apparently the younger penguins tasted better. ‘Young penguins were tasty enough, quite like chicken’ - Pg. 69. The penguins provided a good meal to the men, and even though they weren’t as flavourful, so did the seals. The seals provided a little more for the crew than the penguins did, the seals provided the meat and blubber for the blubber stoves, which was used to cook the meat that the different animals provided. The decisions made in regards to the penguins, seals, and dogs were all smart decisions that kept the crew alive. If it hadn’t been for all the sources the animals had provided, the crew wouldn’t have made it off the pack ice, let alone all the way to Elephant Island. Another agreeable decision made in regards to the animals, were the decisions made about the dogs. Before the crew had started venturing towards the end of the continent to leave for Elephant Island, most teams of dogs had to be shot since the dogs required so much food in order for them to