Boffins from Fukushima and Hirosaki Universities have warned a new breed of swine is growing out of control after domestic pigs mixed with wild boars
A population of mutant ‘super pigs’ is spiralling out of control due to cross breeding in a nuclear ghost town. Wild boars have interloped with domestic pigs creating new rapid fire reproduction rates in the animals, which used to give birth just once a year.
The new mass breeding has been reported in Fukushima, Japan. Nearly 200,000 people fled the now-abandoned area in 2011 to escape radiation from the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster.
The devastating accident occurred when a mammoth 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami damaged three of the nuclear facilities reactors, which led to the leakage of dangerous materials.
In the chaos, domesticated pigs escaped their homes and began interbreeding with feral boars in abandoned farmlands. The mixing of hog genes combined with the radiation-filled ghost town created a massive population of pigs with alarming breeding capabilities.
The new DNA was discovered by boffins from Fukushima and Hirosaki Universities. “While it has been previously suggested that hybridization between rewilded swine and wild boars can contribute to population growth, this study demonstrates – through the analysis of a large-scale hybridization event following the Fukushima nuclear accident – that the rapid reproductive cycle of domestic swine is inherited through the maternal lineage,” Professor Shingo Kaneko of Fukushima University said in a statement.
Wild boars typically reproduce in once a year but domesticated pigs can breed all year round. The mix of genealogy means the wild boar are breeding constantly.
“We wish to emphasize that this mechanism likely occurs in other regions worldwide where feral pigs and wild boars interbreed,” Hirosaki University geneticist Donovan Anderson added in a statement.
It comes as a giant seven foot pig man was reportedly spotted in Britain’s countryside. In February, a flurry of gruesome glimpses of horror creatures were reported in the area of Cannock Chase.
Professional ghosthunter Robert Pulme claimed: “This beast is said to be one of Britain’s eeriest urban legends. Spoken about in the past but it has not been until this year that we have had a sighting of him.
“It just shows that what all of us paranormal hunters are saying is correct, things are heating up.
“The pigman is terrifying. Standing at least seven foot tall, he has the head of a pig and the body of the man and is said to be the result of mad science experiments from decades gone by.
“Many believe he is the product of twisted World War II experiments, possibly involving early genetic modification, who has been lying dormant for all this time.
“If sightings are up for ghosts and demons and Bigfoot in the area, then maybe it is making the other beasts that lie within Cannock Chase a bit more brave.
“Maybe they are coming out to play.”