On April 26, 1986, the infamous explosion at a Chernobyl nuclear power plant unleashed large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, an event that contaminated wildlife across country lines. The radiation levels seen in animals as a result has decreased in recent years — with the exception of one animal: the wild boar.
Interesting, so its from nuclear weapon testing. Should this not impact boar population in more countries then? Is the deer truffle only found in Central Europe? Are other countries checking their radioactive levels?
I know that the idea that its the differing diet of wild boar compared to other animals has been mentioned to me as a source many years ago. But its curious that the source of the radioactive isotopes is not what we expected. Lets see if radioactivity goes up as predicted due to cesium diffusion rates through soil
Steinhauser said the wild boars probably ingested the cesium from contaminated deer truffle mushrooms, which they dig up and eat during the winter when corn and acorns on the ground are scarce. Cesium seeps through the soil and is absorbed by the mushrooms, as if it were a nutrient. This also explains why observations show radioactivity levels in wild boar are higher in the winter. (Interestingly, the deer do not fancy deer truffles so much despite the name.)
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