JAPANESE NUCLEAR SWINE: In the Fukushima Radioactive Disaster Area, Pig-Boar Hybrids Are Reproducing Fast
Japanese pig-boars are booming.
Fifteen years ago, a natural catastrophe hit Japan with apocalyptic force, turning into a major nuclear disaster.
A 9.0 magnitude earthquake at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean resulted in a tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant along the coast, forcing the local populations to evacuate.
Left behind were not only pet animals, but also domesticated pigs on local farmlands – and the destiny of these animals is now the object of scientific study.
#Following the Fukushima #NuclearAccident, escaped domestic pigs bred with #WildBoar, accelerating generational turnover and rapidly diluting pig genes through maternal lineages. @fukudaikouho https://t.co/KSG1pyY8Hp https://t.co/uTDNfMoT9F
— Phys.org (@physorg_com) February 10, 2026
Popular Science reported:
“In the regions surrounding the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in northeast Japan, radioactive domestic pigs and wild boar are rapidly interbreeding. While far from the only recent incident of animal hybridization, the situation is presenting wildlife biologists with an unprecedented opportunity to examine the issue in real-time, as well as provide a template for studying the growing problem worldwide.
[…] Descendants of those escaped hogs are still roaming the overgrown fields and forests near the shuttered power plant today, but they’re very different animals than their great-grandparents. Like in many other places, the pigs are interbreeding with indigenous feral boars to create a new population of hybrid swine. But while conservationists are constantly working to cull these destructive animals, no one has tried to do the same for the Fukushima hogs.”
Independent reported:
“Much of the evacuation area remains sealed off due to ongoing high levels of radioactivity. Earlier tests by the Japanese government on contaminated wild boars in the area showed levels of cesium-137 more than 300 times higher than the safe limit.
With no further introduction of pigs to the area and minimal human activity, the region has become the site for a natural experiment to understand domestic pig hybridization with their wild relatives.
Such hybridization between domestic and wild animals is a growing concern worldwide, particularly in areas where feral pigs and wild boar increasingly overlap, and is often linked to ecological damage.”
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