A genetic study of wild boar in the Fukushima exclusion zone has revealed that the animals have hybridised with domestic pigs that escaped from farms after the 2011 nuclear disaster. Researchers from Fukushima University found that the hybrids, which are more robust than pure domestic pigs, have thrived in the abandoned area.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings B, analysed DNA samples from wild boar and escaped pigs. It showed that the domestic pig genes have been gradually diluted over time as the hybrids bred with wild boar. 'Those invasive genes are disappearing, and the natural situation is coming back,' said Professor Shingo Kaneko from Fukushima University's Institute of Environmental Radioactivity.
Donovan Anderson, a researcher at Fukushima University, explained that the radiation has not caused a genetic effect, but the invasive domestic pig species has. 'Once people were gone, the boar took over,' he said. The boar have thrived in the abandoned towns because they are robust, while the domestic pigs could not survive in the wild.
The disaster at Fukushima's nuclear power plant was triggered by the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan, which caused a tsunami that flooded the reactors. A zone surrounding the damaged plant was evacuated, similar to Chernobyl's exclusion zone. Since 2018, people have begun returning to previously abandoned areas, and researchers are watching to see how the boar will respond.
