A mystery involving dogs with bright blue fur at the Chernobyl disaster site in Ukraine left people wondering if radiation or artificial intelligence was to blame, but a veterinarian working in the area believes they have the answer, which isn’t a cause for concern.
Jennifer Betz, the veterinary medical director for the Dogs of Chernobyl program, associated with the Clean Futures Fund —a nonprofit supporting communities experiencing the long-term effects of nuclear disaster —told Newsweek that the team encountered three dogs almost completely covered with a blue substance, likely caused by them rolling around in it.
Dogs of Chernobyl went to the disaster site from October 5 through 13 to work on catching, sterilizing and releasing dogs that were descendants of those animals left behind when the area was evacuated in 1986 following a nuclear reactor meltdown. But the recent trip left the team scratching their heads at the sight of blue canines.
“We attempted several times to catch these dogs; however, these particular dogs are extremely fearful of people and need to be blow darted to capture,” she said. “We, unfortunately, were not successful in catching these particular dogs this time.”
Images of these dogs quickly made headlines, as the bright, blue fur captured people’s attention. Dogs of Chernobyl shared footage of the blue dogs on social media, sparking concern among viewers. Some believed the coloring to be a filter or the result of AI, while others expressed concerns about potential radiation exposure. The discovery is not raising any alarm bells for the organization.
“We are suspecting that this substance was from an old portable toilet that was in the same location as the dogs,” Betz said. “However, we were unable to positively confirm our suspicions.”
She stressed that the organization is “not in any way” saying the blue fur is related to radiation in Chernobyl. Plus, these dogs, along with others in the area, appear healthy to Betz.
“I would suspect, as long as they don’t lick the majority of the substance off of their fur, it would be mostly harmless,” she said.
Betz added that the sterilization campaign involves using crayon markers on the dogs, typically green, red, blue or purple, to identify which canines have recently undergone surgery. This marker, however, washes off in a few days. It is only ever on top of their head, making it completely different from the recent discovery.
Dogs of Chernobyl
The nonprofit program provides care for the cats and dogs living in the radioactive area by giving them food, access to veterinary care and monitoring the populations throughout the zone. Since 2017, Dogs of Chernobyl has sterilized over 1,000 dogs and cats living in the nearly 19-square-mile radius of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
The Clean Futures Fund estimates that approximately 250 stray dogs reside around the nuclear power plant, with 225 in Chernobyl City and hundreds more throughout the exclusion zone.
