Returning Residents Fear Potentially Radioactive Wild Boars Roaming Fukushima

March 29, 2017
Animals prompt safety concern as homeowners plan return to Fukushima after earthquake and nuclear power plant meltdown.

Homeowners set to return to the region around Fukushima five years after a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered a meltdown at its nuclear power plant now face a new threat: aggressive and potentially radioactive wild boars freely roaming the area, according to an article from CBS News. Evacuation orders for four towns in the region will be lifted by the Japanese government at the end of March and thousands of former residents are reportedly planning to move back.

According to the article, after the area around Fukushima was evacuated following the disaster, wild boars from the surrounding hills and forests moved in and have essentially taken over the deserted towns. The wild boars, which can be aggressive toward humans, seemingly have no desire to return to their original homes and they have reportedly lost their fear of people. Residents, who expressed their concerns regarding the boars at town meetings earlier this year, are returning amid questions about the plant's safety and radiation that leaked after it was crippled by the 2011 earthquake.

Read the entire article here.

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