The multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 caused one of the biggest nuclear disasters in the history of Japan and was second only to the Chernobyl incident of 1986: More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from within a 20-kilometer ring around the site and the possible debilitating impact on the environment is still not known. But it was also a calamity for thousands of pets left behind. The animals were, of course distressed . Now researchers claim that evidence that the Fukushima event was particularly devastating, at least for the estimated 5800 dogs registered in the area.
The researchers compared behavior patterns and levels of the stress hormone cortisol excreted in the urine of dogs rescued from the Fukushima exclusion zone with dogs abandoned in another region of Japan. It was found that the Fukushima dogs had much lower levels of agression towrads unfamiliar people, were harder to train as well as exhinited less attachment to caregivers as compared to dogs from other region according to the team reports in Scientific Reports. Stress hormone levels were also five to 10 times higher for the Fukushima dogs and persisted for much longer after their rescue.
Team member and animal behavior specialist Miho Nagasawa, of Azabu University in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, says it is unclear whether the greater stress resulted from experiencing the earthquake, a longer time before rescue, or the sudden and complete disappearance of humans.
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/scienceshot-fukushima-dogs-were-.html
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