The disaster that occurred at the Chernobyl power plant in April 1986 left behind a legacy of forced evacuations, serious illness, and loss of life, along with a gigantic radioactive mass known as “The Elephant’s Foot.”

Due to the Elephant’s Foot’s radiation levels, it’s a difficult object to study, but that doesn’t mean brave individuals living near Chernobyl haven’t tried. There are even a few Elephant’s Foot pics online for curious folks to peruse.

The mass may not look like much, but even in Chernobyl today, it packs enough radioactivity to end a person's life within minutes of exposure. As if that weren’t frightening enough, it’s also slowly burning through the floor of the power plant and into the ground, posing catastrophic consequences.