Wildlife Thrives After Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Explosion

On the 26 of April 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear plant in what was the Soviet Union in Ukraine had exploded. The majority of the population living there evacuated the area, except for about three hundred residents who refused to leave. Scientist believed that due to high levels of radioactivity, this area would not be safe for any living organism to live for many years. Now a little over twenty years have passed, and wildlife still occupies, and in fact, flourished the contaminated area. Scientists have different opinions on the effects the radiation has contributed to the wildlife inhabiting the area. Some scientist argue that their have been a variety of different mutations in the DNA of some species and has a dramatic effect on reproduction and health. Other scientists argue that wildlife is coping with the contaminated area and the damage caused by the nuclear explosion is far less significant than the damage caused by humans during their occupancy in the area.

As humans evacuated the area, animals began to move in. The populations of species living in the radioactive area are now multiplying and species not seen for decades such as the lynx, eagle owl, great white egret and nesting swans are now reappearing. Existing animals such as the wolf, elk, fox, deer, badger, boar, hare and many species of aquatic and non-aquatic birds are thriving in population. According to radioecologist Sergey Gaschakm in an article in BBC News "A lot of birds are nesting inside the sarcophagus," referring to the steel and concrete shield over the reactor that exploded in 1986.

In the first few weeks after the explosion, the pine tree forest within a 6 kilometer radius turned reddish brownish given the name Red Forest. Animals within the 6km radius were immediately affected. Most animals died or became sterile. The embryos of mice dissolved and even horses beyond the 6km radius died because their thyroid glands had disintegrated. Some species were greatly affected but their next generations seem fine. It is too early to tell how radioactive these animals are and they are probably not safe to eat but so far, most species have adapted fine.

Gaschakm conducted an experiment with mice living in the Red Forest. He tagged a numerous number of mice and then recaptured them later and concluded that these mice lived just as long as mice that lived in a clean and safe environment. During his research, he only found one mouse with cancer-like symptoms. He also found mutations in some of the mice DNA but their physiological and reproductive systems were not affected. Another scientist by the name of Timothy Mousseau of the University of South Carolina studied barn swallows in Chernobyl. He discovered that out of 284 birds over one third had ill-formed beaks, albino feathers, bent tail feathers and other malformations. According to an article in The Washington Post Mousseau said, “a high proportion of the birds he and his colleagues have examined suffer from radiation-induced sickness and genetic damage. Survival rates are dramatically lower for those living in the most contaminated areas.” thus, according to his study although wildlife is adapting to this radioactive habitat the animals are struggling to build populations. Both scientists criticize each other’s studies as poorly designed.

After two decades after the nuclear explosion, a woman by the name of Maria Urupa still lives in the contaminated area. She claims that wildlife is flourishing around the fields and forest around her home. A pack of wolves have killed and eaten her two dogs and the meadows near her house are infested with fox, rabbits and snakes. Although some scientist said life would not exist here for several hundreds of years, evidence proves them wrong. Unfortunately, scientist have not conducted enough research to draw significant evidence that life is dramatically affected or not affected by the explosion. However, life has adapted to survive in this radioactive environment.

Posted by: C. Varela