Truth behind viral blue dogs spotted in Chernobyl near nuclear disaster site

It's a site best known to most as being the home of the worst nuclear disaster in history, but almost 40 years after the Chernobyl disaster, the nuclear wasteland continues to make headlines for a very different reason.

Despite being surrounded by an exclusion zone of 1,017 square miles in a bid to combat wide-reaching aftereffects of radiation such as thyroid cancer, cataracts, and leukemia – a number of wild animals have still come to call the exclusion zone home.

Among these animals are packs of wild dogs, but while most of us could be forgiven for expecting to see shades of grey, brown, black and white, some of the dogs spotted surrounding Chernobyl have taken on a distinctly blue hue instead.

Sharing the details of the unexpected phenomenon, a group known as Dogs of Chernobyl shared a video which showed packs of dogs in the region, including one that was covered in blue fur.

They said: “They were not blue last week. We do not know the reason, and we are attempting to catch them so we can find out what is happening."

The group did add that they think they may have a good theory as to why the dogs are changing color - and it's not due to radiation.

“Most likely, they’re getting into some sort of chemical,” they added.

Aside from the unusual coloring however, the group were happy to report that the dogs didn’t appear to be in ill health and were in fact 'very active and healthy'.

Jennifer Betz, a vet who has coordinated field missions into the exclusion zone, has also called out viral posts claiming radiation turned the dogs blue.

She told IFL Science: "They appear to have been rolling in a substance that had accumulated on their fur.

"We are suspecting that this substance was from an old portable toilet that was in the same location as the dogs; however, we were unable to positively confirm our suspicions.

"We are not in any way saying that it is related to radiation in Chornobyl."

Around 700 dogs are thought to call the exclusion zone home and have descended from pets that were previously left behind during the 1986 disaster which saw families flee their homes in a bid to avoid the explosion and nuclear fallout.

Since 2017, the group has been actively caring for the dogs in the vicinity, regularly bringing food and providing medical attention to help to give them the best quality of life despite the circumstance.

Radiation levels in the area continue to remain at 11.28 millirem of radiation, roughly around six times higher than is deemed safe for humans – however, following the departure of residents in the area, wildlife has been given the chance to flourish and thrive, with some plants and animals even adapting to the new radioactive conditions.

A study in 2024 found that the dogs had mutated to develop a new superpower which gave them an enhanced immunity to radiation, as well as heavy metals and pollution.

Norman J Kleiman, an environmental health scientist at Columbia University, led a study to investigate how living in such a harsh environment had impacted the dogs' genetics, and how they had ultimately adapted to survive in such inhospitable terrain.

He and his colleagues collected blood samples from 116 'semi-feral' dogs and examined these at length to identify changes in the DNA of the dogs.

The study revealed that two distinct populations of dogs had adapted, with their genetics altering to live around so many contaminants – before passing on these altered genes from generation to generation.

The researchers identified 52 genes that 'could be associated with exposure to the contamination of the environment at the nuclear power plant'.