Six years after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains devoid of humans—but the boars have moved in. Reuters reports that after the people left, wild boars living in the nearby hills came down to the towns and made themselves at home. Now, the Japanese government is preparing to lift evacuation orders in some areas, but residents have voiced concerns about the dangers of encountering wild boars in their streets and backyards. A small group of local hunters have been assigned to catch and kill the boars, further preparing the way for residents to return home.
The Wild Boars of Fukushima
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A wild boar stands in a residential area in an evacuation zone near Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on March 1, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
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A Geiger counter, measuring a radiation level of 0.106 microsievert per hour, at a temporary housing complex that accommodates nuclear evacuees from Namie town, on February 27, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters -
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Members of Tomioka Town's animal control hunters group take a photo of wild boars they killed in a residential area inside the evacuation zone near TEPCO's tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant in Tomioka town, Japan, on March 2, 2017. #
Toru Hanai / Reuters
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