Yesterday I caught the movie "Eight Below" with my sis. My sis was the one who really wanted to warch that. I wasn't planning to watch that somehow. Just like I didn't have the urge to watch "Penguin March" in the cinema when the famous film was released quite some while ago. Although I do think that both sled dogs and emperor penguins are cute. Maybe I figured that it wouldn't be too exciting to see 8 dogs running about on snow and not talking human, nor thousands of penguins waddling about on ice though 3 of the penguins did freaking talk human language. Alas, just as I was wrong about the penguins (I did catch "Penguin March" on vcd months later), I was also wrong about the dogs.

Inspired by a true story, "Eight Below" is an action-adventure about loyalty and the bonds of friendship set in the extreme wilderness of Antarctica. The film tells the story of three members of a scientific expedition: Jerry Shepard (played by Paul Walker), his best friend, Cooper, and a rugged American geologist, who are forced to leave behind their team of eight beloved sled dogs due to a sudden accident and perilous weather conditions in Antarctica. During the harsh, Antarctic winter, the dogs must struggle for survival alone in the intense frozen wilderness for over 6 months.



The Alaskan huskies COMPLETELY stole the limelight. Not only were they lovely in appearance, all fluffy and cuddly, they were even better actors/actresses than any of the humans in the movie. And they didn't even talk. All they had to do was a look, a bark, a nod or a nudge at each other, and you knew what they were trying to imply, how they felt. It was amazing. Just watching the dogs look after each other was enough to use up a few pieces of Kleenex.

And it is especially intriguing to know that such a wonderful dog that will really work itself to death, the Alaskan husky, is not even a so-called pure breed and is not recognized by any major kennel club. It falls short of being a breed in that there is no preferred type and no restriction as to ancestry. It is defined only by its purpose, which is that of a highly efficient sled dog. In fact, the Alaskan is the sled dog of choice for world-class dog sled racing competition and none of the pure bred northern breeds can match it for sheer racing speed. A top-level racing lead dog can bring a freaking sum of US $10,000-15,000. How's that for a non pure?! But if you ask me, I would gladly keep a Alaskan husky like beautiful Maya here any day!

And the film's actually quite educational too. Shows you the breath-taking landscape of the Antartica continent and some of the local biological diversity. If there's one thing which I've learnt from watching this film, it is to never mess with a leopard seal. Like what Jerry said in the film, "they are more leopards, than seals". How bloody true. The only time when I was completely caught off-guard and had a brief shock was when the stupid leopard seal popped out from the sea through a huge hole in the carcass of the killer whale, to say "hello" to one of the huskies, Max. Except that its "hello" and the snarl on its face looked more like "I'm going to tear you apart and eat you!". Oh, or maybe that's what it was trying to say.

Sua-ku me had never known how a leopard seal would be like before watching "Eight Below". And I'm too bloody used to the cutesy sealions in the Singapore zoo, that perform at their own animal shows, can do acts and even clap their flippers. I don't think that our zoo has any seals in fact. But well, bloody hell, I would take a sealion any day as compared to a leopard seal that's no way near cute. Even a leopard still looks cute, though it might bite off my head if it is hungry.

Here are some interesting facts about the Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx):

Population: 250,000 individuals
Location: Antarctic waters
Size: Up to 10 ft long
Weight: Up to 750 lbs
Diet: Penguins, fish, squid, & krill
Habitat: Pack ice in summer, island coasts in winter

* The Leopard seal is the largest of the true Antarctic seals.
* Leopard Seals are the only seals that eat other seals.
* Leopard seals have a excellent senses of sight and smell under water.
* Leopard seals catch penguins by their feet and then beat them back and forth on the surface of the water until the penguin falls out of its skin. Then, they eat the carcass. (How svetle. puke.)

¶ 11:35 AM