Chernobyl Dogs – How They Adapted To The Ultimate Inhospitable Environment

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174 – June, 2023

By Amy Fernandez

As we know, the foundational strains of our breeds originally developed in response to prevailing conditions. Specialized selection, which added the finishing touches, came much later. Modern breed development built on the natural groundwork of the dog’s genetic plasticity. Blistering hot, arid, frigid or wet, adaptation truly became the canine key to survival. Where other species merely thrived or failed in response to changing conditions, dogs systematically tailored their physiology to conquer their environmental demands. That has resulted in everything from hairless dogs impervious to heat to Nordic breeds ideally adapted to arctic zones. It also explains the globally pervasive presence of domestic dogs.

Still, it was assumed that a few places could never be colonized by canines. Conditions are simply too harsh and hazardous to sustain life. Well, maybe it’s time to rethink that premise. Currently, a group of scientists from the U.S., Poland and Ukraine have been collaborating to determine exactly how a growing dog population has managed to flourish smack in the middle of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Chernobyl, situated at the edge of Kiev, which is currently part of Ukraine, leapt from obscurity to infamy overnight thanks to one of the two biggest nuclear reactor spills in history. The other one, Fukushima, occurred in 2011. Both registered at seven, maximum severity for a nuclear energy accident.

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174 – June, 2023

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