Wildlife flourishes in Chernobyl
What happens to the environment when humans disappear? Thirty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, booming populations of wolf, elk and other wildlife in the vast contaminated zone in Belarus and Ukraine provide a clue.
On April 26, 1986, a botched test at the nuclear plant in Ukraine, then a Soviet republic, sent clouds of smoldering radioactive material across large swathes of Europe. Over 100,000 people had to abandon the area permanently, leaving native animals the sole occupants of a cross-border "exclusion zone" roughly the size of Luxembourg.
Here, a raven stretches its wings as it sits on a post inside the 30 km (18 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the village of Babchin, some 370 km (217 miles) southeast of Minsk, December 23, 2009. The sign reads: "Radiation hazard."
More Photos: Chernobyl: Where time stands still
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
In the Belarussian part of the zone, tumbledown villages marked with yellow and red radiation warning signs have become hunting grounds for predators such as wolves and hawks. Birds, including tawny owls and magpies, nest in the roofs and chimneys of abandoned buildings.
A wolf looks into the camera in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Orevichi, Belarus, March 2, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
The long-term impact of the radiation on animal populations has been the subject of intense debate because scientists have struggled to untangle the positive effects of human absence from the negative effects of living in a poisoned environment.
A study published in Current Biology on October 5, 2015, found that wildlife populations in the so-called exclusion zone -- over 1,600 square miles of contaminated land -- have bounced back and are now as big as, or in some cases bigger than, comparable populations in uncontaminated nature reserves nearby.
A radiation sign is seen in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, February 11, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
"These results demonstrate for the first time that, regardless of potential radiation effects on individual animals, the Chernobyl exclusion zone supports an abundant mammal community after nearly three decades of chronic radiation exposures," the researchers wrote in the Current Biology study.
Bisons are seen at a bison nursery in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, January 28, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
A white-tailed eagle lands on a wolf's carcass in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, in the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, February 15, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
Elks are seen in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, January 28, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
In both Chernobyl and Fukushima, Japan, radiation caused wildlife population declines and a raft of mutations.
Hearteningly, in Chernobyl, the abundance of elk, roe deer, red deer and wild boar are now similar to that found in surrounding areas. Despite the radiation, wolf numbers are over seven times higher in the Belarussian part of the zone compared with uncontaminated areas elsewhere.
A wolf crosses a road in a forest in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, April 2, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
"This doesn't mean radiation is good for wildlife," Smith continued in a statement, "just that the effects of human habitation, including hunting, farming, and forestry, are a lot worse."
Bison are seen at a bison nursery in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, January 28, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
"It's very likely that wildlife numbers at Chernobyl are much higher than they were before the accident," said Jim Smith of the University of Portsmouth, an author on the study.
A woodpecker looks out of a hollow in a tree in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Babchin, Belarus, April 3, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
Wolves walk in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Orevichi, Belarus, February 25, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
Some wolves have taken to straying outside the zone to steal calves from nearby farms, prompting hunters to set traps or shoot them as a deterrent.
Hunters drag wolves killed in a field outside of the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, near the village of Khrapkov, Belarus, January 27, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
"People can never live there - it's impossible - not even for the next 24,000 years," Ukrainian Ecology Minister Hanna Vronska said of the zone, which encompasses 2,600 sq km of forest, marsh and open countryside.
Ruined farm buildings are seen in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Pogonnoe, Belarus, March 13, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
International donors have funded the building of a 30,000 tonne "safe confinement" arch to prevent more deadly particles spewing from the stricken nuclear reactor's site for the next 100 years.
A magpie flies over a barbed wire fence at the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Babchin, Belarus, February 18, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
A tawny owl leaves a chimney in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Kazhushki, Belarus, March 16, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
Nothing can be done to decontaminate trees and soil that suffered the worst of the nuclear fallout within a 30-km radius of the plant.
A World War II monument is seen near the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, near the village of Babchin, Belarus, January 26, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
In March, Vronska said authorities were considering turning the uninhabitable zone into a biosphere to protect and study its native animal populations in what would be the largest nature reserve in Europe.
An otter swims in a river in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Pogonnoe, Belarus, March 13, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
Special government permits, usually valid for a few days, are required for anyone wishing to visit the exclusion zone from the Belarussian side. Roads going into the zone are guarded to prevent any unauthorised person entering.
A black stork flies through the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, April 2, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
While the rules of access are also strict on the Ukrainian side, small tour groups can visit sites within the zone, including the "ghost town" of Pripyat.
An abandoned house is seen in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Dronki, Belarus, January 28, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
There are plans to use parts of the area to store nuclear waste and for solar power.
A golden eagle approaches the remains of an elk in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Babchin, Belarus, March 16, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
International donors have funded the building of a 30,000 tonne "safe confinement" arch to prevent more deadly particles spewing from the stricken nuclear reactor's site for the next 100 years.
A white-tailed eagle sits on the roof of an abandoned school near the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, in the abandoned village of Tulgovichi, Belarus, January 29, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
A fox walks through the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor near the abandoned village of Babchin, Belarus, March 5, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
A yellowhammer is seen on the remains of a house at the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Orevichi, Belarus, March 12, 2016.
Chernobyl - Wilderness regained
An elk runs in the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, near the village of Babchin, Belarus, January 27, 2016.