Dogs in the Chernobyl exclusion zone turn their fur bright blue

(Dan Tri) - Three dogs in the Chernobyl quarantine area suddenly appeared with unusual bright blue fur, making scientists and the online community curious.

One of three blue-haired dogs (photo: Clean Futures Fund/ Instagram).

According to two Instagram posts by the Clean Futures Fund, a non-profit organization that is caring for and disinfecting the dogs in Chernobyl, while on duty, their staff discovered three dogs whose fur had changed from its normal color to a bright blue, which looked extremely strange.

“We don’t know the cause and are trying to capture the dogs to find out what’s going on,” the Clean Future Foundation wrote on its official Instagram page, adding that “it’s likely they were exposed to some kind of chemical.”

However, the reality is simpler. According to the Foundation’s update, the dogs may have rolled in a slime leaking from a nearby portable toilet, temporarily staining their fur, a phenomenon that is somewhat “grotesque” but not dangerous.

The Chernobyl area has been virtually abandoned since 1986, after a reactor at the nuclear power plant near the town of Pripyat (Ukraine) exploded. Since then, the vast contaminated area around the plant, including Pripyat, has been off-limits without permission from the Ukrainian government .

Maybe they've been watching too much Bluey (photo: Clean Futures Fund/Instagram).

When Pripyat residents were evacuated in 1986, many left their pets behind. The descendants of those pets and wildlife made the restricted area their home and continued to thrive.

The Clean Future Foundation has been running the Chernobyl Dogs project since 2017 to foster and monitor stray dogs and cats in the area, capturing and sterilizing them where possible to help control the stray dog ​​population. Three blue-haired dogs were discovered in early October 2025 during the project.

"No, they don't turn green because of radiation, and we're not saying they turn green because of radiation," the Clean Futures Foundation staff insist.

These are just a few dogs that accidentally touched something green, and we are trying to catch them to get them neutered."

"I think if they don't lick most of it off their fur, they're unlikely to be affected," said veterinarian Jennifer Betz of the Chernobyl Dog Project.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/cho-o-vung-cam-chernobyl-doi-mau-long-thanh-xanh-sang-20251031031230369.htm