Overview
- Timothy A. Mousseau, a Dogs of Chernobyl adviser, says field observations indicate the blue color came from chemical dye in a tipped portable toilet.
- He rejected social media claims of radiation-induced mutation or adaptation, calling the dye explanation the most plausible.
- Photos of three blue-tinted dogs posted by Dogs of Chernobyl in October went viral, but staff had not captured the animals to examine them directly.
- Dogs of Chernobyl, affiliated with the Clean Futures Fund, provides care to roughly 700 semi‑feral dogs descended from pets abandoned after the 1986 evacuation.
- The exclusion zone remains hazardous with radiation levels above human safety limits, even as scientists continue broader studies of local wildlife.