A hybrid species of pigs is depopulating a Fukushima. A discovery that has stunned Japanese scientists who are studying the effects of radiation on animals. A genetic study conducted byFukushima University discovered that there is a new species of wild boar, born from the crossing of these animals with domestic pigs escaped from farms after the tsunami and earthquake destroyed the area, causing one of the most serious nuclear disasters in history. Scientists at the University of Fukushima used genetic tests to trace the legacy of the terrible event on the landscape and to monitor the impact of radiation on wildlife.
Specifically, they tried to find out what happened to wild animals in an area contaminated with radiation that suddenly comes abandoned by man and, at the same time, invaded by domestic cattle. The genetic sequences of 338 wild boars collected between 2006 and 2018 throughout the region. The results of the study revealed the absence of genetic mutations due to radiation. But unexpectedly, the researchers made another discovery: the wild boar had mated with pigs creating an unknown hybrid species that now populates the area. Although the radiation did not cause a genetic effect, the invasive species of domestic pigs did. Once the people were gone, the boars took overexplains Donovan Anderson, a researcher at the University of Fukushima in Japan.
The results, published in the journal Proceedings B, paint an unknown biological picture, a veritable "biological invasion" by this new species: I think the pigs were unable to survive in the wild, but the wild boar thrived in the wild. abandoned cities - because it is robust, he added Donovan Anderson. The exclusion zone was lifted in 2018, but officials struggled to recover data relating to these animals, which literally invaded the zone, free from human presence. However, the situation appears to be returning to pre-disaster "normalcy". In fact, according to the authors of the study, the new invasive genes are disappearing. In other words, the return of man will likely put an end to this new species: Humans are truly the only predators of these wild boars. Therefore, when people come back, it will be really interesting to see what these animals doAnderson added.
In fact, another previous study published in Nature had identified traces of radionuclides and in particular of cesium in wild boars that lived near Fukushima. In conclusion, we have shown that the level of wild boar contamination is still relatively high, even though it had been 8-9 years since the Fukushima accident. Over time, those levels may have dropped but more studies will be needed to confirm this (Source greenme).