Overview
- The peer-reviewed study published Tuesday used 174 camera traps across about 60,000 km² and recorded roughly 31,000 mammal sightings, with 19,832 detections inside the exclusion zone.
- Researchers documented 13 large mammal species, including Przewalski’s horses, moose, wolves, Eurasian lynx and brown bears, and found the exclusion zone was the only site where all species appeared.
- Statistical models showed higher species occupancy, detection and diversity in the large, connected Chornobyl and Drevlianskyi areas than in smaller formal reserves or unprotected land.
- The authors did not analyze effects of lingering radioactivity and emphasized the study measures the ecological impact of reduced human activity, leaving radiation-related biological effects unresolved.
- Ongoing research and management are constrained by new risks from Russia’s 2022 invasion, fires and a 2025 drone strike that damaged nuclear containment, which prompted donor-backed repairs approved in April 2026 and have limited field access.