Chernobyl animals are mutants ... Among breeding birds in the region, rare species suffered disproportional effects from the explosion's radiation compared to common species.
Barn swallows have previously been found to have two to 10-fold higher mutation rates in Chernobyl than in Italy or elsewhere in Ukraine. Meanwhile, voles living in the Exclusion Zone were found to be more likely to develop cataracts, a 2016 study concluded. But it's not all doom and gloom.
High incidence of deformities
The researchers also found that animals living near the Chernobyl reactor - which was covered in a protective shell after it exploded in April 1986 - had more deformities, including discoloration and stunted limbs, than normal.
According to the authors, the study represents “the first genetic analysis of domestic dogs affected by a nuclear disaster,” providing a baseline to measure the impact of prolonged radiation exposure on an animal's genetic health. The radiation in Chernobyl City and near the power plant breaks the pooches' DNA strands.
But, unfortunately for everyone who loves these kinds of conspiracy theories, there is no such thing as dangerous mutants living in the Chernobyl zone, or mutated zombies who want to kill you and eat your flesh.
Dogs living in and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine are genetically distinct from dog populations living further away from the site of the nuclear accident. The results will be used to try to understand the long-term genetic effects of radiation exposure.
New research has studied hundreds of the free-wheeling dogs that roam the ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and found that exposure to radiation may have made them genetically distinct from other dogs elsewhere in the world.
It is thought that the reactor site will not become habitable again for at least 20,000 years, according to a 2016 report.
Are Chernobyl dogs evolving faster? The answer, which is similar to many questions related to novel studies, is – yes and no. But, according to Mousseau, the confusion surrounding some other headlines about this study may be because people have a finite definition of the word "evolution."
How Long Will It Take For Ground Radiation To Break Down? On average, the response to when Chernobyl and, by extension, Pripyat, will be habitable again is about 20,000 years.
Chernobyl reactor 4 is no longer burning. The reactor was originally covered after the disaster, but it resulted in a leak of nuclear waste and needed to be replaced.
Although it is technically forbidden for humans to live there, many other creatures have made it their home. Within the Chernobyl disaster region, grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, buffalo, deer, elk, beavers, foxes, beavers, wild boar, raccoons, dogs, and over 200 species of birds have developed their own ecosystem.
Long-Term Health Consequences
There has been a 200% increase in birth defects and a 250% increase in congenital birth deformities in children born in the Chernobyl fallout area since 1986. In Belarus, 85% of children are deemed to be Chernobyl victims with genetic changes.
Most deformities were so severe the animals only lived a few hours. Examples of defects included facial malformations, extra appendages, abnormal coloring, and reduced size. Domestic animal mutations were most common in cattle and pigs. Also, cows exposed to fallout and fed radioactive feed produced radioactive milk.
Ionizing radiation damages the genetic material in reproductive cells and results in mutations that are transmitted from generation to generation.
The animals aren't all just fine, but the rate of reproduction is high enough that their population is growing. They don't die before they reproduce because their lifespan, compared to humans, is so much shorter.
The majority of remaining pets and stray dogs were killed by Soviet soldiers due to concerns that they'd spread the radiation. However, it's believed that some dogs survived, and still others have repopulated the area over the last 37 years since the Chernobyl disaster.
Generally, visitors to Chernobyl are advised not to touch the dogs, for fear that the animals may be carrying radioactive dust. It's impossible to know where the dogs roam and some parts of the Exclusion Zone are more contaminated than others. There is wildlife living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone besides dogs.
Although there was some overlap between the canine populations, in general, the power plant dogs were genetically distinct from the Chernobyl City dogs, the researchers found. There appeared to be little gene flow between the two groups, suggesting that they rarely interbred.
Fukushima is the most radioactive place on Earth. A tsunami led to reactors melting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Even though it's been nine years, it doesn't mean the disaster is behind us.
The accident destroyed the Chernobyl 4 reactor, killing 30 operators and firemen within three months and several further deaths later. One person was killed immediately and a second died in hospital soon after as a result of injuries received.
If the three courageous men were not successful in their mission the Chernobyl death toll was likely to reach the millions. Nuclear physicist Vassili Nesterenko declared that the blast would have had a force of 3-5 megatons leaving much of Europe uninhabitable for hundreds of thousands of years.
As host Drew Scanlon explains in the video below, “Visitors are advised not to touch animals in the exclusion zone because they could carry radioactive particles in their fur.”
Most deformities were so severe the animals only lived a few hours. Examples of defects included facial malformations, extra appendages, abnormal coloring, and reduced size. Domestic animal mutations were most common in cattle and pigs. Also, cows exposed to fallout and fed radioactive feed produced radioactive milk.
CFF estimates that over 250 stray dogs live around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, over 225 stray dogs live in Chernobyl City, and hundreds of other dogs live at the various security checkpoints and roam throughout the exclusion zone.