Radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster is contaminating southern Germany’s wild boars due to a combination of climate change and settling of the radiation in the soil. Warmer temperatures are providing ideal breeding conditions for the boars because oak and beech trees are providing bumper harvests of seeds. The exploding population has resulted in more and more of the boars rooting and feeding on mushrooms and truffles that tend to store radioactivity the most. especially as the cesium-137 contamination has now seeped into the soil to the exact level where the truffles most frequently grow. The radioactivity doesn’t appear to be harming the boars, but German hunters must have their kills checked for radioactivity before the meat can be consumed or sold.
