There is always hope. The proof is with the Chernobyl nuclear accident which irradiated the region on the night of April 25-26, 1986, during Soviet times. In total, more than 2,200 km2 in northern Ukraine and 2,600 km2 in southern Belarus have become areas unfit for human life. But since this territory was deserted, nature has taken back its rights, vegetation is growing back and wild species are returning, including Przewalski's horse, which had disappeared from Asia since the middle of the 20th century. In 1998, around thirty individuals were released at Chernobyl as part of a scientific experiment.
“Przewalski's horses live in the Chernobyl reserve in the wild without any special food, and among wolves. Therefore, they live in a similar ecology and behave similarly to the wild horse, which lived here in prehistoric times in the Tarpan forest ”explains the Ukrainian zoologist Serguiï Jyla, before clarifying:“ The horse is important, because we let's try to restore the landscape and all the species that were typical of this territory 200 to 300 years ago ”.
As the head of the scientific department of this nature reserve reminds us, “the Chernobyl accident today offers a unique opportunity for carrying out radio-ecological research and for the conservation of biological diversity.
It is a real paradox ”.
And an understatement.
We will never know how many direct or indirect deaths the disaster caused, especially after cancer.
Official reports mention 4,000 deaths, but some sources estimate them to be many more.
But on the death of individuals and soils and since man has no longer returned to these irradiated lands, nature is reborn under a note of hope for wild species.
The experience with the Przewalski horses seems to be paying off, as today there are 150 individuals in this region, with good breeding prospects.