Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

40 years after nuclear disaster and evacuation, Chernobyl now teems with wildlife
Yahoo.com ^ | April 21, 2026 | Hope Nguyen

Posted on 04/24/2026 8:55:43 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

Once the epicenter of a catastrophic nuclear disaster, Chernobyl in Ukraine was left uninhabitable for humans. But in the silence that followed evacuation, nature began to reclaim the land.

Przewalski's horses, once nearly extinct, now roam freely, grazing among overgrown buildings as forests reclaim old roads.

Wolves, lynx, moose, and red deer have also returned, along with free-roaming dogs and even brown bears, a species absent from the region for more than a century.

Still, the recovery is not without complications. Radiation remains an invisible presence, and scientists continue to observe its subtle but lasting effects, such as birds developing cataracts and frogs evolving darker skin.

New threats have also emerged. Military activity in recent years has damaged parts of the zone, while forest fires risk releasing radioactive particles back into the air.

"Most forest fires are caused by downed drones," Oleksandr Polischuk, who leads a firefighting unit in the zone, told PBS News. "Sometimes we have to travel dozens of kilometers to reach them."

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals; Science
KEYWORDS: chernobyl; nature; nuclear; radiation; radioactive; russianlegacy; ukraine; wildlife

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last


1 posted on 04/24/2026 8:55:43 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

You didn’t put up the pictures of the wtf’s looking like something out of resident evil.


2 posted on 04/24/2026 9:15:20 PM PDT by bakeneko
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

With 5 legs, 3 eyes.


3 posted on 04/24/2026 9:19:19 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? On hold! Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. ๐Ÿšซ๐Ÿ’‰! ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ™! Winning currently!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rktman

Hope they didn’t count the cattle. They are counted by the head.

wy69


4 posted on 04/24/2026 9:22:14 PM PDT by whitney69 (uestiuetion and interpret the answer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: whitney69; rktman; bakeneko

Blue-furred dogs spotted in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in October 2025 were not mutated by radiation, but likely turned blue after rolling in chemical waste, possibly from a broken portable toilet. The Clean Futures Fund, via their "Dogs of Chernobyl" program, monitored these dogs, noting they appeared otherwise healthy and active. - NY Post

5 posted on 04/24/2026 9:24:59 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege (๐Ÿฆ‹๐ŸŒท๐Ÿฉฐ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: whitney69

๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚


6 posted on 04/24/2026 9:25:00 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? On hold! Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. ๐Ÿšซ๐Ÿ’‰! ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ™! Winning currently!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

They probably turned over the porta potty as a joke.


7 posted on 04/24/2026 9:26:14 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? On hold! Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. ๐Ÿšซ๐Ÿ’‰! ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ™! Winning currently!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

We’ll know the blue-furred dogs are mutants if they get tats and nose-rings.


8 posted on 04/24/2026 9:34:05 PM PDT by x
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

Beautiful animals, Are they radioactive?


9 posted on 04/24/2026 10:18:29 PM PDT by Veto! ((Trump is Superman))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

“Once the epicenter of a catastrophic nuclear disaster, Chernobyl in Ukraine was left uninhabitable for humans. “

NOT TRUE! Some people never left and others moved back in. They have lived there just fine all this time, So, not JUST the animals. Who were also just fine.

Chernobyl was the nuclear disaster that ALMOST happened, but didn’t.

https://www.google.com/search?q=tv+drama+chernobyl&ie=UTF-8

EXCELLENT! Must see. The TRUTH about Chernobyl. Very accurate depiction.


10 posted on 04/24/2026 11:24:50 PM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

That’s what happens when u cut out 17 safety systems during a test!


11 posted on 04/25/2026 1:04:57 AM PDT by Herakles (Diversity is applied Marxism )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Herakles

โ€œThatโ€™s what happens when u cut out 17 safety systems during a test!โ€

Safety systems are there for a reason. I also read somewhere that the plant operators had to get permission from Moscow to shut the plant down. By the time they got permission, it was too late.


12 posted on 04/25/2026 4:01:28 AM PDT by wjcsux (On 3/14/1883 Karl Marx gave humanity his best gift, he died. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Veto!

“Beautiful animals, Are they radioactive?”

Yes, just like Paul Rodgers of The Firm.

https://youtu.be/niYtMuhvDU8?si=HmIl9UGv3qBW2C4K


13 posted on 04/25/2026 4:04:45 AM PDT by KingLudd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

The “experts” were wrong again.


14 posted on 04/25/2026 4:21:35 AM PDT by Renkluaf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege
Dateline 1995:

40 years after nuclear disaster, Hiroshima and Nagasaki now bustling, thriving cities.

15 posted on 04/25/2026 4:36:50 AM PDT by fso301
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

Nuclear power is good for the environment!


16 posted on 04/25/2026 4:41:58 AM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Wake up, smell the cat food in your bank account. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: faucetman
"...NOT TRUE! Some people never left and others moved back in. They have lived there just fine all this time, So, not JUST the animals. Who were also just fine...."

Keee-recht! The headline implies that wildlife once WERE NOT teeming there because of the reactor explosion. Which is not true.

Nothing to see here; move along.


The Enviro-Socialists CAN'T STOP LYING about nuclear power.

I've seen two different BBC dramatic series in which a character mentions the two people who were killed in the Three Mile Island disaster. Except that is A LIE. Not only was no one killed at TMI, the amount of radiation that leaked out was about the same as a chest x-ray (which is 1/100th of the radiaton received from a CT scan). No one was so much as treated for radiation sickness.

The US Navy is the world's most prolific nuclear operator. It has been operating nuclear propulsion systems for more than 60 years and currently has more than 200 reactors in operation, most of which are on floating platforms, and some of which are on platforms that both sink and surface on command. And they have NEVER had a single serious radiation-related nuclear incident. In all those 60 years they only had one incident in which seamen were examined for possible radiation exposre and in that single incident, no treatment for radiation exposure was necessary.

Since 1955, there have been 13 reactor workers killed in workplace/industrial accidents in the US (electrocution, steam leaks, falling objects, etc). None of those deaths were radiatio-related. In fact, in that same period, zero (0) people in the US have died from causes related to accidental release of radiation from a reactor incident.

On the other hand, according to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, there have been 517 coal miners killed in workplace-related accidents IN THE 21st CENTURY ALONE!

You tell me which is safer.

17 posted on 04/25/2026 5:16:20 AM PDT by Paal Gulli
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Paal Gulli

More people were killed in Ted Kennedy’s car than at TMI.


18 posted on 04/25/2026 6:36:00 AM PDT by FrozenAssets (You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

Humans must have not done so well


19 posted on 04/25/2026 7:06:06 AM PDT by Vaduz (NEVER TRUST A DEMOCRAT)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CondoleezzaProtege

Wildlife, with an emphasis on “wild”, genetically.


20 posted on 04/25/2026 7:11:36 AM PDT by simpson96
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson