Aftermath: Population Zero Page #6

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A female mouse can give birth to

more than 70 offspring in a year.

Since radiation has killed

many of the mice outside,

this cat heads indoors,

where he just might get the 8 mice

a day he needs to stay healthy.

Humans need a variety of

foods to get all the fat,

protein and vitamins we require.

Cats don't.

They can produce their own vitamin C,

and they can get the rest by eating

the organs and entrails of mice.

All over the planet,

animals are invading the

human world to find food.

And what we left behind

will keep them alive,

even as clouds of radiation spread.

Radiation has dissipated.

Cities are quiet and the

atmosphere is improving.

The air is clearer.

In Manhattan and Toronto, the view

has increased from 20 miles to 100.

City dogs still roam the

countryside looking for food.

Most of these former pets

are far from skilled hunters.

But if they're hungry enough,

they'll try to attack anything once.

Like wolves, dogs hunt by instinct,

going for the legs or neck

to bring down a large animal.

But instinct is no match for a

beast weighing thousands of pounds.

The dogs aren't a threat.

And without humans,

the elephants are predator-free.

In just a few months,

pets and zoo animals have become killers

in a radioactive world.

But another challenge is on the horizon:

winter.

Six months after humans disappear.

It's early December.

In a world without us,

former zoo animals and

pets either adapted or died.

In some parts of the world,

animals are about to

face their next challenge:

the coming winter.

A common misconception is that

cockroaches can survive almost anything.

But cockroaches are

imports from the tropics

and only spread north as we

started to use central heating.

With the electricity

gone, and the furnaces off,

millions of cockroaches

will be dead by the new year.

For other animals,

our sudden disappearance

isn't a problem,

it's an opportunity.

Raccoons and squirrels already know

that the best way to survive the cold

is to sleep through it.

And this winter, they have

many new dens to choose from,

that are drier and safer

than sleeping outside.

These squirrels are tree

dwellers, so they camp upstairs.

Skunks, on the other

hand, prefer the ground.

Hibernating animals don't need heat,

even when their body temperatures

drop almost to the freezing point.

It's a survival strategy their

ancestors evolved long ago.

But this African elephant isn't equipped

to deal with frigid temperatures.

His body evolved to get rid of heat,

not keep it.

In Africa, his thin ears would

have helped him keep cool.

But now, they're just

getting frostbitten.

To survive, he needs to head south.

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