The world without us: Chernobyl
Project: What happened to nature?
Project: What happened to nature?
Nature has made a determined comeback In the 20 years since Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 turned a bustling Soviet city into a ghost town. The people are gone, and in their place are now thriving populations of deer, elk, wild boar, wolves, and even lynx. Trees are pushing up through Lenin Avenue and moss is clinging to the broken sidewalks and abandoned buildings throughout the 19-miles that make up the Exclusion Zone.
Tim Mousseau of the University of South Carolina has been studying the effects of radiation on Chernobyl's wildlife, and told National Geographic that despite the higher levels of genetic abnormalities, "one of the great ironies of this particular tragedy is that many animals are doing considerably better than when the humans were there."
Radiation levels are still too high for long term exposure, but the Ukraine has opened up the nearby city of Pripyat to daytrippers looking to catch a glimpse of what an urban center would look like after 20 years without a human footprint.

Shots from Flickr users Mattbr, Marc Morte, Dazzababes, MaisonBisson, and MarkNelson.
Tim Mousseau of the University of South Carolina has been studying the effects of radiation on Chernobyl's wildlife, and told National Geographic that despite the higher levels of genetic abnormalities, "one of the great ironies of this particular tragedy is that many animals are doing considerably better than when the humans were there."
Radiation levels are still too high for long term exposure, but the Ukraine has opened up the nearby city of Pripyat to daytrippers looking to catch a glimpse of what an urban center would look like after 20 years without a human footprint.

Shots from Flickr users Mattbr, Marc Morte, Dazzababes, MaisonBisson, and MarkNelson.
Mon, Nov 26, 2007 Permanent link
Categories: World without us, What happened to nature?
Sent to project: What happened to nature?
Categories: World without us, What happened to nature?
Sent to project: What happened to nature?
![]() |
RSS for this post |


josh


josh


bpwnes


keen


syncopath


syncopath