CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — In contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free.
Across the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Przewalski’s horses — stocky, sandy-colored and almost toy-looking — graze across a radioactive landscape larger than Luxembourg.
On April 26, 1986, an explosion at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine sent radiation across Europe and forced the evacuation of entire cities, displacing thousands. It was the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Four decades on, Chernobyl — spelled “Kornobyl” in Ukraine — has been too dangerous for humans. But the wildlife is back.
Wolves now roam a vast no-man’s-land that stretches across Ukraine and Belarus, and grizzly bears have made a comeback after more than a century. Populations of free-roaming packs of lynx, moose, red deer and dogs have rebounded.
Przewalski’s horses, native to Mongolia and once on the brink of extinction, were brought here as an experiment in 1998.
Known as “takhi” (“spirit”) in Mongolia, horses differ from domestic breeds in having 33 pairs of chromosomes compared to 32 in domestic horses. The modern name comes from the Russian explorer who formally identified them.
“The fact that there is now an independent population in Ukraine is a minor miracle,” said Denis Vishnevsky, the region’s leading naturalist.
With human pressure gone, some parts of the exclusion zone now look like European landscapes for centuries, he added: “Nature recovers relatively quickly and efficiently.”
Transformation is seen everywhere. Trees pierce abandoned buildings, roads merge into forest, and Soviet-era markers stand next to leaning wooden crosses on overgrown graves.
Hidden cameras show horses adapting in unexpected ways. They seek shelter in dilapidated barns and abandoned houses, using them to escape harsh weather and insects – even sleeping inside.
The animals live in small social groups – usually one stallion with several mares and their young – with a separate band of young males. Many died after their introduction, but others adapted.
Tracking them down takes time. Vyshnevskyi often drives alone for hours, setting motion-sensitive camera traps on bark attached to trees.
Despite continued radiation, scientists have not recorded widespread die-offs, although subtle effects are evident. Some frogs have developed dark skin, and birds in high radiation areas are more likely to develop cataracts.
However, new threats have emerged.
Russia’s 2022 offensive brought fighting through the exclusion zone as troops advanced toward Kiev, digging defenses in contaminated soil. Fires linked to military activity spread through the forest.
The harsh wartime winters also took their toll. Damage to the power grid has left surrounding managed areas without resources, and scientists have reported an increase in fallen trees and dead animals — both casualties of extreme conditions and hastily constructed forts.
“Most forest fires are caused by drones,” said Oleksandr Polischuk, who heads the region’s firefighting unit. “Sometimes we have to travel dozens of kilometers to reach them.”
A fire can send radioactive particles back into the air.
Today, the area is more than just an emergency refuge for wildlife. It has become a heavily guarded military corridor, marked by concrete barriers, barbed wire and minefields – a landscape some describe as of eerie beauty.
Employees rotate in and out to limit radiation exposure. Chernobyl is likely to remain off-limits for generations – very dangerous for humans, but full of life.
“For those of us in conservation and ecology, it’s kind of surprising,” Vyshnevskyi said. “This land once had many uses – agriculture, cities, infrastructure. But nature has effectively reset the factory.”
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Associated Press writers Dmytro Zhyhinas and Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed to this report.
