Hurley and Macklin were sent back to Ocean Camp to recover food that had been left there to lighten the sledging teams’ burden. On 2 February 1916, Shackleton sent a larger party back to recover the third lifeboat.[66] Food shortages became acute as the weeks passed, and seal meat, which had added variety to their diet, now became a staple as Shackleton attempted to conserve the remaining packaged rations. In January, all but two teams of the dogs (whose overall numbers had been depleted by mishaps and illness in the preceding months) were shot on Shackleton's orders, because the dogs' requirements for seal meat were excessive.[66] The final two teams were shot on 2 April, by which time their meat was a welcome addition to the rations.[67] Meanwhile, the rate of drift became erratic; after being held at around 67° for several weeks, at the end of January there was a series of rapid north-eastward movements which, by 17 March, brought Patience Camp to the latitude of Paulet Island, but 60 miles (97 km) to its east.