When you think of Chernobyl you probably think along the lines of “nuclear disaster” and a “no-go” area, but new research shows that with humans now absent from the region, several mammal species including wild boar and wolves, are increasing in number in this most unlikely nature reserve.
When you think of Chernobyl you probably think along the lines of “nuclear disaster” and a “no-go” area, but new research shows that with humans now absent from the region, several mammal species including wild boar and wolves, are increasing in number in this most unlikely nature reserve.
It’s important to stress that the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident of 1986 was devastating to the area and meant that around 4750 square kilometers of land spanning across both the Ukraine and Belarus has become inhabitable for humans.
However, traditional notions that this area is a desolate and barren place are not necessarily accurate, and scientists have been mindful that, particularly over the past decade, wildlife has returned to the exclusion zone, and in some cases in significant numbers.
Now research published in the journal Current Biology detailing a long term census of mammals in the exclusion zone area finds that some animal species may even be thriving. That’s not to say that the radiation and resultant abandonment of the site was necessarily good for those species, but rather that the lack of human sprawl and hunting does appear to be helping their numbers.
There has been a great deal of scientific literature published regarding how wildlife is fairing in the exclusion zone, and the results have been mixed or even, at times, seemingly contradictory. The literature appears to show that insects and arachnids have not fared well, with their numbers down compared to what we’d expect for that region. Studies have also shown the accident may have reduced the number of birds in the region, among other animals. Few studies, however, have looked at key large mammal species, and few studies have also relied on methodologies that go beyond anecdotal reporting. This latest study was different however.
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth in the UK together with a team from the Polesky State Radioecological Reserve in Belarus used data from aerial surveys that had been able to count, and with a degree of accuracy that had previously been lacking, large mammals like roe deer, wolves, wild boars and more.
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Radiation warning sign by Red Forest image via Shutterstock.
