Pig-boar hybrids in Fukushima could show how nature heals after man-made disasters

A tsunami triggered by a 9.0 earthquake – the largest ever recorded in Japan – devastated the island nation on March 11, 2011.

The tsunami also caused an accident at a nuclear power plant in the Japanese region of Fukushima, in which 164,000 people had to flee within 20 kilometers of the plant.

Pig farmers were among the refugees who left their pigs behind to escape fears of radiation.

Left behind pigs

(Photo: Photo by Kenneth Schipper Vera on Unsplash)

According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, human shortages and the abrupt release of pigs into the wild led to novel boar-pig hybrids that are now recovering in Fukushima – although experts aren’t sure how long these hybrids will last exist.

Co-author Donovan Anderson, a Ph.D. Fukushima University student said, “Although people cannot return, animals have returned and even flourished in this deserted landscape.”

In the early days of the pandemic, multiple stories surfaced of animals recovering from urban spaces, from coyotes roaming the streets of San Francisco to goats invading a Welsh village. Then, after closures due to pandemics, animal lovers were happy that nature was finally “cured”.

Related article: Pigs cut while still alive: Hidden camera showed extreme cruelty to animals in the slaughterhouse

Return to natural habitats

Animals returning to natural habitats or expanding their range, on the other hand, have a long history, pre-pandemic and often post-catastrophic. The best-known example is the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, widely considered to be the worst reactor accident in history.

Black boar

(Photo: Photo from Pixabay)

After the Chernobyl reactor disaster, which led to the evacuation of human inhabitants, the wolf and elk populations in the so-called “exclusion zone” increased, which thrived without people. This is because animals can adapt to changing environments in ways that humans cannot.

“Wildlife, huge animals, can now genetically mix with new populations that they couldn’t before,” adds Anderson. “Perhaps they can migrate to new regions, or because of the increasing population density, they have to spread greater distances in search of food supplies.”

In recent years, the plants in Chernobyl have even thrived, allowing new cells to grow back and adapting to a changing environment. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is currently home to several endangered animals from across Europe, including wild Przewalski’s horses.

Increase in the wild boar population
'Baby Boom' at Cologne Zoo - eight very rare Swabian indoor pigs were born

(Photo: Photo by Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)

After the disaster, the numbers of wild boars in Chernobyl rose, according to the authors of the boar research. However, this population eventually stabilized and then began to decline, possibly anticipating the fate of the boar-pig hybrids in Fukushima.

After the accident in Fukushima, wild boars came from the surrounding hills to evacuated villages. Research has shown that these boars are “relatively” radioactive and measures have been taken to kill them and remove them from the area.

According to this recent study, several of these boars encountered abandoned pigs and mated with them.

Fukushima wild boar population and hybrid

pig

(Photo: Brett Sayles)

The researchers examined the wild boar populations in the Fukushima evacuation zone and found that 31 or 16 percent of the total population were hybrids of pure wild boar and domestic pigs.

These hybrid boars haven’t strayed far from the natural regions of Fukushima. Nearly 75% of the hybrid monkeys have been found within 20 kilometers of the nuclear reactor’s location. According to researchers, only one female hybrid has been spotted outside the original 20-kilometer evacuation zone.

Although the pigs interbred with wild boars, their DNA did not seem to have been passed down through generations. The researchers found that boars with pigs had, on average, only 8% pig DNA.

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