Eerie nuclear disaster site, Chernobyl, has become an unlikely spawning ground for wolves and other wildlife. According to a recent study in the European Journal of Wildlife Research (as reported by Livescience), some of the Chernobyl born gray wolves are venturing outside the exclusionary zone and into the world at large, perhaps, carrying specks of gene mutations with them.

In 1986, a reactor explosion in the nuclear power plant resulted in one of the most devastating nuclear accidents the world had ever seen. Hundreds of servicemen fell ill, and many died of cancer and radiation sickness in the years following the accident. Unsure of how far-ranging the radioactive contamination went, authorities fenced off 18.6-mile diameter around the reactor zone as an off-limits, exclusionary zone.

While some studies have found that local wildlife in the zone suffered from ill effects, others found that the disaster zone has turned into an unlikely nature reserve, one that has allowed gray wolves to flourish. According to study author Michael Byrne, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Missouri at Columbia, gray wolf population density around Chernobyl is up to seven times higher than in surrounding reserves. And now, some wolves have started to venture outside the disaster zone. Researchers tracked one young wolf that travelled about 186 miles outside the exclusion zone over the course of 21 days.

The young wolf’s journey is proof that Chernobyl might be more useful than just an “ecological black hole.” In fact, “the Chernobyl exclusion zone might actually act as a source of wildlife to help other populations in the region. And these findings might not just apply to wolves — it's reasonable to assume similar things are happening with other animals as well,” Byrne told Livescience. As to whether the wolves might be carrying radioactive mutations with them as they go? "We have no evidence to support that this is happening,” Byrne said. “It is an interesting area of future research, but it is not something I would worry about."

(via Livescience)

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io