Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan

Abstract Wild boars ( Sus scrofa ) are notorious for accumulating high contamination levels of 137 Cs in their meat. Publicly available data wild from 2011 to 2019 were used determine some radioecological characteristics Germany (affected by Chernobyl-fallout, 1986) and Japan Fukushima, 2011). The effective half-life boar meat was much longer (7.3 y) than (2.6 y), respectively. thus show more persistent other game or forest animals. This unusual behavior has been termed “wild paradox.” In German boars, the sets reveal a distinct geographical seasonal dependence with higher activity concentrations winter summer. Japan, only exhibit decline behavior.