Poo-dunnit?
Stray dogs living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone whose fur turned bright blue likely got their color from rolling in a tipped-over porta-potty, according to local animal volunteers.
The periwinkle pooches went viral in October after pictures of three dogs with blue fur were shared on Facebook by the Dogs of Chernobyl program, which cares for strays living around the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Ukraine.
Now one of the scientists behind the program, an affiliate of the non-profit Clean Futures Fund (CFF), has spoken out after rumors spread that the hounds turned blue because of radioactive mutations.
“The initial reports by CFF on TikTok sparked a flurry of social media commentary suggesting that this might be a response to the radiation in the region. Some even suggested radiation-induced mutations and some form of evolutionary adaptations to the local environment,” Dr Timothy A. Mousseau from the University of South Carolina was quoted as saying in the Dogs of Chernobyl Facebook post.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the blue dye likely came from a tipped-over porta-potty where the dogs were rolling around in the poop as dogs are prone to do (think cat litter box!),” he added.
“The blue coloration was simply a sign of the dog’s unsanitary behavior! As any dog owner knows, most dogs will eat just about anything, including feces!” Mousseau said.
Some 700 dogs living within the 18-square-mile exclusion zone around the former nuclear plant have been cared for by the Dogs of Chernobyl program since 2017.
The animals are the descendants of pets abandoned when residents were evacuated following the disaster at the plant.
Since human fled the region almost 40 years ago, wildlife has flourished in the exclusion zone.
A 2024 study found that some dogs in the area had developed a mutation that conferred immunity to radiation, pollution, and heavy metals.
Radiation in the exclusion zone remains six times the allowed exposure for human workers, and experts say the area will not be habitable for some 3,000 years.
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