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Radioactive wild boars have been [foaming / roaming] the forests of Germany for decades. Scientists believed their radioactivity was [due / dew] to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. However, the animals' radioactivity has [long / wrong] mystified scientists because [white / while] levels of radioactive caesium in other animals has decreased [under / over] the years, radioactivity in wild boars has persisted [on / at] high levels. Scientists have [dubbed / daubed] this mystery the "wild boar paradox". New research now [attributes / contributes] the contamination of Germany's wild boars to nuclear weapons tests from the mid-20th century. The Chernobyl [reactor / distractor] produced caesium-137, which has a much shorter life than the caesium-135 created [by / at] nuclear weapons.

Scientists believe the reason wild boars have [roamed / remained] so radioactive compared to other [forestry / forest] creatures is their love of the delicacy [trifle / truffle] mushrooms. Radioactive particles accumulate in these underground [fungi / fungus] , which form part of the boars' diet. The high levels of caesium in boars make the animals too dangerous to be eaten [under / over] German law. This has resulted in a reduction in the hunting of the animals, which has led to a [proliferation / predilection] of their numbers. Geochemist James Kaste asks why the [affects / effects] of nuclear weapons testing on the environment have been "under-studied and [largely / minimally] forgotten". He said: "This is one of the ultimate [case / box] studies showing how legacy soil pollution can haunt generations to [come / go] ."