Comments on: 24 Years After Chernobyl, Radioactive Boars Still Roam Germany

By: Joanne

Joanne — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:23:15 +0000

The boars referred to in this story were not in the dead zone. They are 1700 kilometers away in West Germany. They also spend all their time rooting in the radioactive soil and eating mushrooms and truffles. It would be both nice to know and nice if their were still indigenous boars in the dead zone.

By: Tim Mullins

Tim Mullins — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:11:56 +0000

What is our governments hiding from us? This was supposed to be pretty much impossible. Remember all those rumors about mutations in those atomic tests?

By: tiger

tiger — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:32:09 +0000

what could this story be summerized to????

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:13:32 +0000

I wonder if the benefit of being an exclusion zone –for humans only– is outweighing the negative factor of the additional radiation?

I mean, wouldn’t it be ironic if all the ordinary factors of human occupation, meaning things like hunting, habitat change, monoculture agricultural practices, disturbance, spraying and all the rest, were actually more detrimental than a bracing dose of radiation?

That might explain some of the reports coming out that the Chernobyl area is experiencing a revival in animal populations.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:26:42 +0000

Chris the Canadian – you are onto something. A theory of radiation hormesis posits that low-level, chronic ionizing radiation exposure can actually turn on additional, reserve DNA damage repair mechanisms that make cells more resistant to radiation and possibly other cellular damage. Check it out, it is fascinating and intuitive.

By: Chris the Canadian

Chris the Canadian — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:32:13 +0000

Well, I wouldn’t call it a ‘dead’ zone. The boar population is exploding, the tree population is very healthy, and as the area is over run by nature (Since much of the area has been abandoned save for a few thousand hearty and stubborn Ukranians) the land will be cleansed eventually. Wouldn’t it be something if the flora and fauna of the area is able to adapt and not only survive but thrive? As for the boars emitting radioactivity, are there any health issues with the animals other than the radioactivity? Tumors? Health problems?

I also wonder, if an animal or plant is exposed to constant but non-life threatening amounts of radiation over time, and their offspring are also brought into those conditions and grow and mate in those same conditions, do they gain a resistance to the radiation?

By: Cora

Cora — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:06:33 +0000

I feel bad for the boars, and wonder how much research is being conducted in regards to radiation effects on all levels of life in the dead zone.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:39:33 +0000

I am wondering if anyone has taken a look at the dna of the young to see if any changes have occured due to the radiation. Have any changes occured, beneficial or otherwise. it would be interesting to see if the radiation is speeding up the natural process, or if the boars are adapting to the radiation. if the boars are reproducing faster than before there may be something changing.

By: Prem Das

Prem Das — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:55:01 +0000

Twenty-four years on, the boars are thriving. There are also stubborn Russians who have remained in the so called dead zone who are still alive and well. Fruit trees like apples are bending over with the weight of their bounty.

Where are all the dire predictions about radioactivity ? Maybe the laughs on us.

Damn scientists.

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:47:46 +0000

@1. Rhacodactylus,

Oh I don’t know, it might not be so bad. If you’re a boar you’re already a pretty badass animal. Now a radioactive boar, well that’s something special, perhaps a superhero in the animal kingdom! No longer do you have to give props to the eagles and wolves. You’re Radioactive Boar!

Lemonade from lemons. Lemonade from lemons.

By: Cynic View

Cynic View — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:49:20 +0000

I wonder what the rates of tumors are on the irradiated boar population. I think these animals would be a great study as analogs for humans living in radioactive wastelands.

By: Rhacodactylus

Rhacodactylus — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:15:50 +0000

It’s kind of a depressing story, I mean you hear something like “Radioactive Boar,” and comic books have conditioned me to think “awesome!”