In 1986, the world's worst nuclear disaster happened when the Chernobyl power plant exploded. The nuclear fallout was so bad that all residents from more than 1,000 square miles were evacuated. This area is known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. For almost three decades, this place has been devoid of human activity. What no one really expected was for the CEZ to become a nature reserve of sorts.
The CEZ is shared by Ukraine and Belarus and evidence of resurgent wildlife can be observed within both countries' borders. In fact, the CEZ has seen an explosion in biodiversity. The wolf populations here are seven times higher than it was before the explosion. Hoofed animal populations are also practically at par with Belarusian protected areas. Small animals must be doing much better too since they breed faster than other larger animals, Huffington Post reported.
Other rarer animals have also moved in. A European lynx was sighted as well as a European black bear. The bear has not been seen in this area for close to a century. IFL Science reported that many other species can be seen in the CEZ like wild boar, roe deer, foxes, etc.
Professor Jim Smith of Portsmouth University, one of the authors of the study on wildlife in the CEZ, said "In purely environmental terms, if you take the terrible things that happened to the human population out of the equation, as far as we can see at this stage, the accident hasn't done serious environmental damage."
He added, "We're not saying radiation is good for animals, but human habitation and exploitation of the landscape is worse." The study, which will be concluded in December after a year of observation, has captured images of the extent of the rebound of wildlife, Telegraph UK reported.
Which do you think is worse, human activity or radiation? Share this article together with your thoughts on the flourishing wildlife in Chernobyl!
