Why are there more animals around Chernobyl than nearby wildlife preserves?

Scientists find radiation is less harmful to animals than humans.

Scientists assessing wildlife populations around Chernobyl have learned something startling. Despite the radiation, there's more wildlife around Chernobyl than on surrounding wildlife preserves.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Scientists recently conducted a survey of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) and were surprised to find abundant wildlife in the area. In fact, when the figures for the CEZ wildlife were compared to figures in nearby wildlife preserves, without radiation, they found populations were much higher in the CEZ, despite the radiation. Wolf populations were seven times higher in the CEZ than in nearby preserves.

Scientists have not yet determined exactly why the wildlife figures are higher in the CEZ. But they have some hypotheses. The leading hypothesis is that proximity to humans is much more dangerous than the radiation.

Animal populations plummeted in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, and some scientists predicted the area would become a total wasteland. Cities and villages across the region were abandoned. Nearly 200,000 people were forced to evacuate and never return. The city of Chernobyl remains a ghost town, even today. Macabre tours and daring photographers still visit the site, but only briefly. Scientists explore the site seeking data on the effects of long-term radiation exposure.

The surprise is that animal populations have not only bounced back, but they have flourished. The area remains dangerous for human occupation, and the radiation almost certainly affects the animals as well, leading in fewer animal births, and shorter lifespans, yet despite these drawbacks, the animals are doing well.

Scientists reported over-abundant populations of elk, deer, boars and wolves, in excess of the numbers found on non-contaminated animal preserves.

Can human activity really be more dangerous than radiation? It certainly can be. Humans hunt and poach, they disturb animal activity, destroy habitat, and their pollution can make animals sick. Plastic bags, fishing lines, metal hooks, aluminum cans and so on, all take a small, but constant toll on animal lives. This impact to wildlife is probably more severe than radiation, and kills more animals before they can reproduce. Radiation kills differently, taking its toll on mature animals as opposed to those that are most fertile, having just reached breeding age. The result is more offspring in the CEZ are surviving to breed than on the wildlife preserves where they are commonly disrupted by interlopers.

Further studies will be required to confirm this hypothesis and to verify the results of these initial surveys.