In fact, a few species are actually living better within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone than outside of it. According to The Guardian, an official nature reserve recently created on the Belorussian side of the zone claims to be “Europe’s largest experiment in rewilding,” where animals are losing their fear of humans. The fewer humans there are, the more nature can re-establish itself unencumbered by human activity. Hunting is strictly illegal and living within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is not recommended. The absence of humans is returning Chernobyl to wilderness.Īs WIRED points out, the Chernobyl disaster presents an unintended experiment in what Earth would be like without humans. Though experts today believe parts of the zone will remain unsafe for humans for another 20,000 years, numerous animal and plant species not only survived, but thrived. Squads of Soviet conscripts also were ordered to shoot any stray animals within the 1000-square-mile Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Workers eventually bulldozed and buried the radioactive trees. The disaster devastated the environment: The total amount of radioactive material eventually released was hundreds of times higher than seen in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.Īround the plant and in the nearby city of Pripyat in Ukraine, the Chernobyl disaster’s radiation caused the leaves of thousands of trees to turn a rust color, giving a new name to the surrounding woods: the Red Forest.
The animals of Chernobyl survived against all odds.Ī faulty design and improperly trained workers are two of the precipitating factors that led to an explosion in Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986.
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