Dogs now occupying the CNPP region are often fed by power plant workers and live in the power plant itself, including the Semikhody train station and the interim used fuel storage facilities (ISF2), which stores spent nuclear fuel.
Most of those former pets died as radiation ripped through the region and emergency workers culled the animals they feared would ferry toxic atoms about. Some, though, survived. Those dogs trekked into the camps of liquidators to beg for scraps; they nosed into empty buildings and found safe places to sleep.
Nearly 40 years later, hundreds of stray dogs roam inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), an area encompassing some 1,000 square miles around the power plant where access is restricted due to radioactive and chemical fallout from the disaster.
Dogs survive in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for the same reason other species there do. They have a life expectancy under 30 years.
There's a big difference between evolution per se and adaptation in the sense of Darwinian evolution," Mousseau explained. He did, however, confirm the dogs of Chernobyl that were involved in this study did show some evidence of genetic changes over the past 37 years since the disaster. "And that's a form of evolution.
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.
A study published in Science Advances deciphered that the genetic composition of dog populations may have been significantly altered by the radiation exposure that is still present in Chernobyl, decades after the nuclear disaster in 1986.
In 1990, around 400 deformed animals were born. 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.
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.
Living among radiation-resistant fauna are thousands of feral dogs, many of whom are descendants of pets left behind in the speedy evacuation of the area so many years ago.
Unfortunately, these families were never allowed to return for their beloved cats and dogs. Miraculously, many pets survived the disaster on their own. Today, hundreds of their descendants continue to live in the Nuclear Exclusion Zone. These animals live short and difficult lives.
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.
The power plant dogs and the Chernobyl City dogs had mixed breed ancestry, but both shared stretches of DNA with German shepherds, as well as other Eastern European shepherd breeds. The dogs from Chernobyl City also had variants that are common in boxers and Rottweilers.
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.
We conduct sterilization clinics to reduce the population, provide vaccinations and medical care to strays, and provide food to the Dogs of Chernobyl. Under the leadership of our veterinary medical director, Dr. Jennifer Betz, we have successfully treated over 750 dogs and cats in the Chernobyl Exclusion zone.
The official death toll directly attributed to Chernobyl that is recognized by the international community is just 31 people with the UN saying it could be 50. However, hundreds of thousands of “liquidators” were sent in to put out the fire at the nuclear power plant and clean up the Chernobyl site afterwards.
Underneath his portrait, the text reads: “Valery Khodemchuk's body was never recovered. He is permanently entombed under Reactor 4.” Officially, the death toll for the incident is only 31, although it is believed thousands more people have died as a result of long term radiation exposure in the years since.
Current status. According to a report by the Worldwatch Institute on nuclear waste, Karachay is the most polluted (open-air) place on Earth from a radiological point of view.
A study of barn swallows from 1991 to 2006 indicated birds in the exclusion zone displayed more abnormalities than birds from a control sample, including deformed beaks, albinistic feathers, bent tail feathers, and deformed air sacs. Birds in the exclusion zone had less reproductive success.
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.
“Creatures such as crabs and molluscs are actually better at withstanding radiation than mammals,” he says. “We're not quite sure why that's the case, but it may be that they are just simpler organisms.”
In fact, a debate roils in the scientific literature about the health of the microbes, fungi, plants and animals that live around Chernobyl. Some scientists have documented thriving wildlife now that people have left, suggesting that lingering radioactive contamination doesn't pose a significant threat.
How long can you stay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? There are two exclusion zones in Chernobyl; a 10km inner and 30km outer Exclusion Zone. It is safe to stay in the outer Exclusion Zone overnight.
Because the fallout puppies could carry dangerous radioactive particles in their fur, visitors are warned not to touch them.
In the study, the scientists took blood samples from 132 dogs near the power plant, 154 strays in Chernobyl City and 16 strays in Slavutych and sequenced their genomes. They found the dogs came from 15 different families, with some spread over large areas and others more confined.