This representation of 15 Sakhalin huskies memorialized a team left behind in Antarctica during an expedition in 1958. A second expedition was expected to arrive shortly to take possession of the team, but bad weather prevented the humans from reaching the dogs. The Japanese general public was not amused by the abandonment of the dogs in Antarctica. A third expedition finally reached the base a year later and found that two of the dogs, Taro and Jiro, had managed to survive. Taro was returned to Japan and died in 1970, but Jiro died in 1960 while still in Antarctica. Alas, these statues were removed in 2013 after being in place for over 50 years. As for the breed itself, only 7 were left alive a few years ago, which was believed to be below the threshold of viability to keep the breed from going extinct.