Life Is Back In Chernobyl

I read about this and I had read some independent stories about wildlife in the exclusion zone before, but many times they were saying that there were all sorts of abnormalities and in the article I read yesterday, they finally admitted that this wasn't true. Animals and vegetation will take over when man is not there to build on the land or to hunt. The wolf population there has exploded, and that is due to the fact that they have lots of prey and man is the only predator. But they will have to watch that zone, because if the wolves become too plentiful, they may endanger the elk and deer populations. It's a balance, but even nature does't always get it right. Moreover, the plants and animals are reclaiming the land there. It isn't just a barren zone of radioactive fallout. It's a thriving wilderness. It should make all the environmentalists happy to think that if man manages to kill his own kind of in nuclear war, that the animals and plants will be just fine and live free when we're gone.

These poor animals have not chosen the best place to be happy : I have already heard of a veal with two heads, and a boar with an eye on the flank, we can expect to have a lot more of interesting mutants near Chernobyl. And I don't count the mutations on plants and vegetables... In public forests the number of animals is regulated by humans, and if it was not done we would be soon invaded by wild boars : they are already harmful in many areas, and they have no predators.

I can remember the incident quite vividly and I believe that it was a Scandinavian country that first detected the radiation after the incident.

I think animals in the wild learn how to feed and protect themselves against other animals. It would seem the largest danger to animals is human beings.

Yes I do agree Anna. I do recall this incident. I wonder how the radiation tho is affecting the life (animals) and plants there. Will they be deformed because of this?

Well look at the great extinction of 'pre-historic' animals and species leading up to 12,000 years ago. Then afterwards there was a huge population explosion of new animal life. People would tell you different things, but those who believe in the previous human civilization theory would tell you that's it's just like now, where people are causing the extinction of lots of life. Once we have our wars and the radiation causes us to remain in certain areas, animals have free reign and things become wild again, until we can rebuild and invade those areas again. Note that it took less than 30 years for animals to reclaim this region. Now imagine what thousands of years would do. It's easy to see what could have been and what we've gotten to see lately.

Chernobyl disaster was horrific...however, it is good to hear that animals are thriving in the area and let us hope that the human species stay away and let the animals live and thrive !

I have seen the abandoned city which really looks scary. I agree with you, humans are the biggest danger not only to animals but also with other human beings.

If that is the case that there are already animals there , then i suppose the area is free from the radiation that caused it to be an exclusion area . I also believe that humans specially the hunters are dangers to animals , but not the primary ones though .

I remember the Chernobyl disaster very well. I was living in Germany.

I do, and it has been proven way too often. I'm surprised to hear about the animals living in that area though. I'm curious what brought them there.

Hi Anna It's still radioactive and some of the animals are experiencing serious mutations.

Yes @LadyDuck , natural disasters aside, mankind is the biggest threat to animals, sad to say. I hope those animals are healthy in that environment and I am glad that man cannot hunt them there.

Where I live its necessary to allow limited hunting to cull out deer that overtake populated areas and cause thousands of highway accidents every year. I think humans are a danger to all animals and other humans because of their accidents like Chernobyl. My dad was a hunter and we ate what he killed.

I agree! Humans tend to do things that endanger the lives of animals.

Oh yes humans do threaten the animal population more than anything else. It is good that the animals are living in peace. I do hope that if the radiation will not cause some sort of deformities in their offspring.

You say that the animals live happily there, - that is because they have no consciousness of what could happen to them there. It will be interesting to see what mutations take place.

Definitely! We are their biggest danger and I'm glad that at least these animals can not be hunted.

Hearing this, I might say yes. There's a philosophy, after destruction comes rebirth. In many ways, after the disaster, that area is now flourishing with new life and possibilities. It will be extremely unethical to try and make that place a habitat for human made industries again.

I don't know whether to be pleased or not. Yes humans are a big immediate danger but the effects of radiation tend to be more long-term.