Chernobyl today animals. How wildlife returns to the Chernobyl zone. What Research Says
Only thirty-one years have passed since the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Over the years, the exclusion zone has remained practically uninhabited by people, but favorable conditions have developed here for the development of flora and fauna. How radiation affects animals and birds, scientists have not yet been able to establish, however, thanks to cameras, they recorded that many inhabitants appeared in the forests. There are lynxes, elks, wolves, giant bison and other animals, many of which have long been listed in the Red Book! 
Biologist Sergei Gashchak sets up a camera to observe animals.
The idea to learn more about the animal world in the exclusion zone belongs to the Ukrainian scientist Sergiy Gashchak. His main work is radioecological research. At the same time, Sergey is fond of studying biology and zoology, now this has already become his separate area of scientific interests. 
The black stork is listed in the Red Book.
The Lesser Spotted Eagle is a rare bird.
A few years ago, Sergey independently bought and installed the first ten hidden cameras that record everything that happens around the clock around the clock. Recording starts as soon as any warm-blooded creature approaches the camera at a distance of 10-15 meters. Due to the fact that shooting can take place around the clock, Sergey Gashchak received not only photographs of animals whose period of activity falls on daytime, but also replenished the collection with curious observations on the life of the nocturnal inhabitants of the forest. 
Cranes in the camera lens.
A lynx with a cub came to the river.
Bears have not lived in these forests for almost a century, now they are returning.
Local bambi.
Unfortunately, adequate funding for research projects natural diversity there is no Chernobyl area, so Sergey did a lot on own funds. True, a few years ago, French scientists became interested in his research and agreed to assist the project. The allocated grant funds were used to purchase another four dozen so-called. "photo traps". 
Elk and her two babies.
Deer willingly pose for the camera.
The camera captured a bison.
Przewalski's horses in winter.
Over the past years, brown bears, red-listed black storks have returned to the forests, and the population of Przewalski's horses, which were brought here in the 1990s, has increased. In a word, the natural restoration of the animal world began. Since 2016, the territory has been given the status of a radiation-ecological biosphere reserve, scientists are now working here, and it is planned to open a limited number of excursion routes over time. 
Photomontage: the size of a deer compared to the height of a human.
For 30 years, the flora and fauna of the exclusion zone began to recover.
Lynxes are well accustomed to the zone of ecological catastrophe.
The deer population numbers about 1.5 thousand individuals.
MOSCOW, April 26 - RIA Novosti. Biologists have discovered the secret of the survival of many species of animals and birds in the Chernobyl exclusion zone - it turned out that their body suppresses the negative effect of ionizing radiation on DNA by increasing the level of antioxidants, according to an article in the journal Science of The Total Environment.
"Thanks to our and others' research at Chernobyl, we now have many examples that there is a balance between the amount of antioxidants in an animal's body and how well its body can protect itself from radiation. Those species of fauna that somehow can control the level of antioxidants, can use this feature of the body to protect DNA from damage," said Timothy Mousseau from the University of South Carolina at Columbia (USA).
Musso and his colleagues, including a number of Russian and Ukrainian scientists, are participating in the Chernobyl + Fukushima international collaboration. As part of the program, biologists, physicists and specialists from other scientific fields comprehensively study the impact of low levels of radiation remaining in the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and in the vicinity of the Japanese nuclear power plant "Fukushima", on the health of individual animals and the entire population as a whole.
As scientists say, past years they managed to uncover several interesting and controversial effects. For example, it turned out that an increased background radiation causes an increase in the number of mutations among individuals, but it does not affect the health of the population. In addition, it turned out that birds and animals reacted completely differently to low level radiation - some birds and mammals have noticeably decreased in number, while others, on the contrary, began to flourish due to the absence of humans in their habitat.
In an attempt to find the cause of these differences, Musso's team made dozens of trips to the exclusion zone and the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and also analyzed data collected by the authors of hundreds of other scientific papers on this topic. Comparing the results of these studies helped the authors of the article to reveal the secret of the survival of some animal species and the extinction of others.
As Musso explains, the main reason for the appearance of mutations during irradiation is that ionizing radiation contributes to the emergence a large number molecules of hydrogen peroxide and other aggressive oxidizing agents capable of penetrating into the cell nucleus and destroying DNA. To combat them, the body uses various antioxidants - substances that bind to oxidizing agents and neutralize them before contact with the genetic code.
The authors of the article found that the organisms of animals and birds react to the appearance of "extra" oxidizing agents in different ways. Moreover, even body tissues in the same animals, such as the brain or, for example, the gonads, can in various ways answer constantly high level background radiation.
In general, the picture was as follows - those species of animals whose body somehow learned to produce more antioxidants were better able to endure life in the exclusion zone and almost did not suffer from negative effects weak radiation or even went into the "plus" due to reduced competition and pressure from predators. In turn, other species, including humans, reacted negatively to it due to their inability to produce more antioxidants.
Such a conclusion, according to Musso and his colleagues, allows us to say that in the exclusion zone and in the vicinity of Fukushima there is now a kind of natural selection- those species of animals survive and thrive that are able to adapt to an increased background and produce more antioxidants.
Chernobyl NPP, power unit No. 4
The sleepy morning sky over picturesque Polissya awakens to a pink sunrise. Light haze covers the swampy area. Curly greenery makes a pleasant rustle, and the wide Pripyat River is washed with dew. Every day nature in the Chernobyl region comes to life. However, April 26, 1986 is approaching...
Photo "mutant"
The explosion of the reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant provoked the ingress of hazardous radioactive elements into the environment. Soon, a rumor spread among the population that the animals living in Chernobyl were mutants. According to rumors, from time to time monsters catch the eye and frighten everyone in the area.
Is it really? Indeed, increased background radiation can cause genetic mutations. However, in order to make loud statements, it is necessary to have reliable facts and evidence.
Storks in the Chernobyl zone
The impact of radiation on the flora and fauna of the alienated territory
It cannot be said that radiation did not affect the animals of the Ukrainian Polissya in any way. Just like people, animals tend to get sick or change their behavior in response to changes in environmental conditions.
In order to emphasize the danger of radiation, it should be remembered that in 1986 it was impossible even to drink milk from a cow that was in the exclusion zone and was irradiated. Undoubtedly, during the evacuation of the population, massively transported and livestock. However, in general, he could no longer bring any benefit.
AT this example, of course not in question about animal mutations in Chernobyl. After all, mutational changes mainly occur at the level of genetics. Therefore, it was possible to talk about mutant animals in Chernobyl only with time.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Sergei Gashchak, an employee of the international radioecological laboratory of the Chernobyl Center, began to investigate animal world areas with camera traps
Ukrainian scientists claim that the Chernobyl zone is recovering wildlife- in particular, brown bears unique for Ukraine appeared there again.
Although, as biologist Sergei Gashchak from the Chernobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology told the BBC Ukrainian Service, the state still does not conduct serious research here.
He has been working in the exclusion zone since 1990 and claims that scientific work It's mostly run by enthusiasts.
Despite the radiation, the absence of people in the zone does its job: unique species of animals and birds appear there.
The number of elks, deer, wolves, lynxes, as well as Przewalski's horses, which were brought here in the nineties, is growing.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Rare black storks have begun to populate the exclusion zone and often fall into camera trapsGaschak calls obtaining photographic evidence of the appearance of brown bears in the area long gone missing a real discovery.
The scientist insists that it is necessary to create a reserve on the territory of the zone, and not to return these lands to economic use.
Return of the bear
The appearance of brown bears in the zone has become a real sensation, because in this place they have long disappeared.
"In the late 1980s, there was almost no evidence of the presence of brown bears in northern Ukraine," Sergei Gashchak told the BBC Ukrainian Service.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Camera traps spotted in the Chernobyl zone brown bearIn the 1990s, a program was successfully carried out in Russia to reintroduce animals to the Bryansk forests, and this contributed to the arrival of bears in the zone.
"My colleagues and I recorded the first tracks of a bear in 2003, but then they did not believe these materials," Sergey Gashchak complains.
New technologies have made it possible to prove the appearance of bears.
“The brown bear was spotted by our camera trap in the western part of the zone. For several years I changed the areas where they were placed, and here is my luck,” Gaschak says enthusiastically.
"Magic" camera traps
In Ukrainian conditions, when the state underfunds science, camera traps are a real luxury.
"I had no more than seven camera traps, at first I bought them myself - it's good that the management did not forbid it," the scientist shares his memories.
Camera traps automatically capture all heat-radiating objects that move at a distance of up to 10-15 meters.
For several years he bought equipment with his own hands, although one camera trap costs at least 150-200 dollars.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption A pack of wolves hunted an adult deer for three days right next to a camera trapThey allowed, in addition to the brown bear, to fix deer, elk, lynxes and wolves.
"Recently, we shot unique footage - how a pack of wolves hunted a deer for three days and still killed him, for us this is generally something incredible," explains Sergey Gashchak.
Filming such a hunt in the wild is considered a rarity.
Since November 2014, together with British scientists, he launched a project for complex photofixation of animals in the zone.
Thanks to the help of Western partners, 42 camera traps were installed.
On enthusiasm
Sergei Gashchak complains that the state does not allocate money for the study of the wild nature of the zone, and does not conduct comprehensive surveys here.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption According to Sergei Gashchak, there may be about one and a half thousand deer in the zoneHe himself admits that his wildlife research is not officially the center's main focus.
“The budget for our research center is 7,500 hryvnia per month. This is not enough even to pay for electricity in the office. We exist on some grants, agreements and contracts,” says the researcher.
"It's hard to say exactly how many animals are here and how they live. There are no scientists-specialists officially involved in nature in the zone. All the work here is the work of enthusiasts," Sergey Gashchak says with sadness in his voice, showing the places where he set traps in exclusion zone.
In contrast, according to him, more than forty scientists of this profile work in the Belarusian part of the zone.
Fauna statistics have not been kept in the zone for the last twenty years, therefore Sergei Gashchak himself draws his conclusions on indirect grounds.
"As a zoologist and biologist I have been working here since 1990. Therefore, I have an idea about 99% vertebrate species that may be in the zone," the researcher claims.
Animal world of the zone
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Lynxes feel good in the Chernobyl zoneAccording to the scientist, in the Ukrainian part of the exclusion zone there are two types large predators: wolves and lynxes.
Each of the populations of these species summer period is over a hundred individuals. Lynxes and wolves occupy different habitats in the zone.
There are many more deer and elk in the area. According to Gashchak, there are about one and a half thousand deer here, and the same number of moose can be.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Unusually for us, raccoon dogs also thrive in the zoneAt a certain period in the zone there were several thousand wild boar, but now the population has decreased to a natural level.
"The density of animals in the zone is not enough to be easily seen from the roads. It corresponds to the resources of nature that allow them to live here," Sergey Gashchak explains the reason why it is very difficult to photograph an animal without camera traps.
In the village of Krasnoe in the north of the zone, where perhaps the strongest radiation is, we find an animal trail.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption In summer, lynxes often fall into the lensThere are many tracks of a large wolf, a wild boar and a hare on the fresh snow.
Here, in the swamp, a large flock of black grouse was accidentally scared away - they quickly fly away from the road.
It is easier to see Przewalski's horses in the zone, which were brought here in the nineties.
They have taken root here, and now the animal population has exceeded one hundred individuals. At the same time, one herd moved to Belarusian territory and settled there.
There is usually one male in the herd, as well as a group of mares and foals. Expelled from the herd, adult males temporarily unite in groups, but mostly live alone.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption There may be more than a hundred wolves in the zone"There are now 7-8 herds on our side of the border, each with less than a dozen animals. There are also wandering males," Sergei Gashchak says.
For an hour by car we searched for a herd of horses, but to no avail. But on the way, they scared a group of moose, who quickly disappeared behind a dense forest, which overgrows everything and everyone in the zone.
According to Sergei Gashchak, many "Red Book" black storks have appeared in the zone, which like to settle away from people.
14 species are recorded in the exclusion zone bats, three of which are listed in the international "Red Book": "giant gathering", "wide-eared" and "pond bat".
"I can't talk about big negative impact radiation on animals, serious research is needed," the scientist says and claims that radiation does not interfere with the revival of the nature of the exclusion zone.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption The horses released in the zone quickly adapted and multipliedIn the zone, at the expense of European colleagues, they wanted to launch a project to study the effect of radiation on individual animals.
They planned to hang collars with dosimeters, but due to bureaucratic problems they did not receive permission and postponed the project.
The future of the zone
In 1998, two bison were brought into the zone, but they subsequently died.
According to Sergei Gashchak, this happened due to miscalculations by scientists: the animals were released into the corral.
"If they were released as horses, then they could survive. First the female died, then in this pen, where there was no necessary conditions and fodder, and the bull died," recalls Sergei Gashchak.
The Ministry of Ecology is developing a plan to create a national nature reserve in the Chernobyl zone. Documents already prepared Sergiy Gashchak, scientist
In the zone good conditions for the restoration of bison, because they lived in these territories before extermination.
However, the authorities do not agree to new project with bison, until a specialized unit responsible for wildlife is created here.
Now there are two approaches to what to do with the zone: create a reserve or return part of the land to economic use.
"A plan to create a national natural reserve in the Chernobyl zone is ripening in the Ministry of Ecology. The documents have already been prepared," the researcher said, noting that the project is still up in the air.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Moose are interested in camera traps and love to lick them.The territory of the zone should become biosphere reserve, with the exception of some central regions where nuclear power plants are located.
Here it would be possible to create systems for monitoring and protecting wildlife.
"This is the ideal and smartest option, a chance for wildlife sightings. Diversity and species composition animals and plants, as well as natural connections", the researcher concludes.
Today, within a radius of tens of kilometers from a nuclear power plant, it is not so easy to meet a person, but, as new studies show, there are plenty of wild animals in the exclusion zone. Scientists from the Savannah River Environmental Laboratory (University of Georgia) studied and counted the Chernobyl fauna using camera traps.
The results of the research, led by James Beasley, have been published in Frontiers, a journal that specializes in environmental and conservation issues. environment. The work of scientists confirmed the long-standing assumption that the number of animals in the exclusion zone does not decrease even in places of significant radiation pollution.
In previous studies on this topic, published in the fall of 2015, the number of animals was determined by counting their tracks. Beasley's group used a more modern technique based on remote photography. Notably, Beasley's data are in good agreement with earlier studies.
“We have placed cameras in a strict order throughout the Belarusian section of the exclusion zone,” Beasley says. “Because of this, we now have photographic evidence to support our findings.”
The study was conducted over five weeks at 94 sites using 30 cameras. Devices fixed on trees worked for 7 days in each location. To attract animals, the camera traps emitted the smell of fatty acids.
Sarah Webster, a Beasley graduate student, set up the devices about three kilometers apart so that the animals would visit no more than one camera trap per day.
Scientists recorded each species of animals caught in the pictures, as well as the frequency of their appearance. Wherein Special attention Beasley's group gave to carnivores because of their special place in the food hierarchy. Closing the food chain, predators are most at risk of radiation contamination. They not only eat animals living in the exclusion zone, but also receive radioactive substances from the environment - soil, water and air.
Scientists managed to capture 14 species of mammals in photographs. Most often, wolves, wild boars, foxes and raccoon dogs, which are widespread on the Eurasian continent, fell into the camera lenses. According to Beasley, these animals were most often found in precisely those parts of the exclusion zone where radiation pollution was maximum.
Through further research, Beasley plans to find out how living in the exclusion zone affects physical condition and longevity of animals.