Overview
- Timothy A. Mousseau, a Dogs of Chernobyl scientific advisor, said the bright blue coats likely came from portable-toilet dye after a unit tipped over.
- In a Nov. 13 Facebook post, Mousseau rejected social media claims of radiation-driven mutations or adaptations as the cause of the coloring.
- Dogs of Chernobyl, affiliated with the Clean Futures Fund, first shared the images in October and said the animals had not yet been caught for examination.
- About 700 dogs descended from pets left after the 1986 evacuation live in the exclusion zone under the program’s care, and many require medical attention and cannot leave.
- Reports frequently note elevated radiation levels in the area, but Mousseau stressed that the unusual fur color is unrelated to radiation or genetic change.