Mystery as abandoned dogs turn blue near nuclear power plant
Wild footage has shown several abandoned dogs living near the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant have turned blue, baffling the workers caring of them – what has dyed their fur?
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Eerie* images have captured several dyed blue dogs living near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, baffling the animal welfare workers taking care of them.
Looking like something straight out of a a sci-fi plot, the wild dogs are descendants* of pets abandoned after the infamous* nuclear disaster at the site nearly 40 years ago, in what was then part of the Soviet Union*, the New York Post reported.
They’ve been found wandering around the Chernobyl exclusion zone* this month, according to Dogs of Chernobyl, an affiliate* of the non-profit Clean Futures Fund that cares for the dogs there.
“We are on the ground now catching dogs for sterilisation*, and we came across three dogs that were completely blue,” the organisation said in an Instagram post with more than 330,000 views.
“We are not sure exactly what is going on.”
Locals said that the dogs’ fur was normal just a week earlier.
“We do not know the reason, and we are attempting to catch them so we can find out what is happening,” the Dogs of Chernobyl spokesman added. “Most likely, they’re getting into some sort of chemical.”
While their fur was blue, they otherwise appeared to be “very active and healthy,” the organisation said.
Each year, Dogs of Chernobyl, which started in 2017, provides medical care and food for the estimated 700 dogs living in the roughly 47 sqkm exclusion zone.
Household pets were tragically abandoned when people were forced to evacuate* after a reactor* at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986, in one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
WHAT HAPPENED AT CHERNOBYL?
On April 25, 1986, technicians working at Chernobyl made several mistakes while testing a reactor, causing it to destabilise. Soon after 1am on April 26, multiple explosions created a fireball that blew off the reactor’s lid, releasing radioactive material* into the atmosphere.
The Soviet government evacuated approximately 30,000 residents of the nearest town but wind currents took radioactivity across what was then the Soviet Union and as far west as Italy and France.
The death toll figure varies but dozens experienced severe radiation sickness*, with some people later dying. Some in the scientific community at the time predicted long-term health impacts and cancer deaths among those exposed to the radioactivity.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission – Chernobyl fast facts sourced from Britannica Kids.
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POLL
GLOSSARY
- eerie: strange in a frightening and mysterious way
- descendants: those who are related to you but were born and live after you, such as a child or grandchild
- infamous: very well known for something bad
- Soviet Union: a former federation of 15 republics including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia, which was created as a Communist state after the 1917 revolution and dissolved in 1991
- exclusion zone: an area where people are not allowed to go
- affiliate: an organisation officially connected with another, larger organisation or is a member of it
- sterilisation: a medical operation to stop animals from producing young
- evacuate: to move people from a dangerous place to somewhere safe
- reactor: a machine which is used to produce nuclear energy or the place where this machine and other related machinery and equipment is kept
- radioactive material: material that contains unstable (radioactive) atoms that give off radiation as they decay
- radiation sickness: illness caused by energy from a nuclear reaction being absorbed by the body and damaging its organs
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QUICK QUIZ
- Where is Chernobyl?
- The dogs were found living near what kind of power plant?
- Their fur has been turned what colour?
- How many dogs are estimated to be living inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone?
- What year was the Chernobyl disaster and why did residents abandon their pets?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Dogs of Chernobyl
Do you think these dogs are genetically different or possibly just exposed to chemicals?
How do the people involved with the Dogs of Chernobyl charity, as well as curious scientists, assist and study these dogs while ensuring their own safety?
What are some ethical questions that may arise from testing or rescuing them?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, History, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Do you ever think people will permanently reside in this area again in your lifetime? Explain your answer.
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, History, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Animal alliterations
With a partner, choose one of the pictures from the article.
Make a list of nouns you could use to name the animal in the picture. For example, instead of a tiger, you could also say cat, or feline.
Pick your favourite noun and identify its initial sound — what sound it starts with, not necessarily what letter.
Now, using the initial sound, make a list of adjectives to describe the animal. Try to be specific. Don’t just look at the animal as a whole, look at their different features as well.
Build on these same sound words, and add any verbs and adverbs you could use to describe the animal and their movements.
Try to put it all together and use as many same sound words in a sentence, to create an alliteration about the animal in the picture. For example: the terrifying tiger, tiptoed through tangled trees chasing his prey.