Wednesday, May 22, 2024

What animal species live near the Chernobyl power plant?

Profile photo for Gary Meaney

The wildlife situation around Chernobyl currently is something of a controversy in science. This 2016 paper says that:

With few exceptions, wildlife in the zone shows a strong pattern of declining abundance

However, many other scientists say that the local fauna is clearly on the rise, and the popular media seems to have almost invariably gone with their conclusions.

In any case, since - as far as I’m aware - all the studies saying that Chernobyl’s wildlife is in decline are by the same two authors, whereas there are several different biologists who have written papers on increasing animal populations in the area, I’ll assume that the latter are correct for now.

Various camera trapping operations have revealed that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has grown a healthy population of large mammals, such as grey wolves:

European badgers:

Wild boar:

Roe deer:

And even moose:

There are also abundant smaller mammals, including Eurasian beavers, least weasels and voles. Among the birds, there are some “flashy” species, such as the enormous white-tailed sea eagle (Europe’s largest raptor):

And black storks:

And that’s just the native wildlife. Since the disaster, people have released other Eurasian mammals into this involuntary oasis, including European bison:

And wild Przewalski’s horses:

There’s even evidence that animals not seen in the region for over a century are returning, including Eurasian lynx:

And brown bears:

It’s pretty amazing, and also rather sobering, to think that the sheer presence of humans was worse for the environment than a catastrophic nuclear disaster.

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