Khaberni - Bizarre photos showed several dogs that had turned blue, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, puzzling the workers who were taking care of them.
These dogs with a disturbing appearance - descendants of pets left behind after the nuclear disaster there nearly 40 years ago - were found roaming in the restricted Chernobyl area this month, according to the "Dogs of Chernobyl" organization, which is part of the nonprofit "Clean Futures Fund" that sponsors the dogs there.
The organization stated in an Instagram post that garnered over 330,000 views: "We are now on the ground capturing dogs to sterilize them, and we have encountered three completely blue dogs, we are not sure what is happening."
Local residents said the dogs' fur was normal just one week ago, and the spokesperson for the organization added, "We don’t know the cause, and we are trying to catch them to find out what’s happening, it’s likely they are being exposed to some kind of chemicals."
Despite their blue color, these dogs appear "very energetic and in good health," according to the organization.
The "Dogs of Chernobyl" organization, which started in 2017, provides medical care and food annually to an estimated 700 dogs living in the 18-square-mile restricted area.
These dogs are the descendants of pets that were abandoned when people had to evacuate after a reactor explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, in one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
