Przewalski’s horses in Chernobyl
Przewalski’s horses, currently one of the rarest equine species in the world, are thriving… in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ).
The landscape marked by the 1986 nuclear disaster welcomed the horses between 1998 and 2004, when conservationists released 36 animals in the area.
Described as the last truly wild horses — although a 2018 genomic study suggests an origin linked to an ancient domesticated lineage — the Przewalskis found favorable conditions to expand in Chernobyl. The population grew rapidly and eventually dispersed north to the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve in Belarus.
In the first four years after reintroduction, the population almost doubled. Although this growth is not yet enough to guarantee a fully autonomous population in the long term, researchers say the signs are encouraging. One of the main challenges of conserving the species continues to be maintaining genetic diversity and avoiding inbreeding, essential for survival in changing environments.
Now, a new study, led by Peter Schlichting of Arizona State University and cited by the show, shows that horses are adapting to the territory in surprising ways: camera traps have revealed that they routinely use abandoned structures, especially barns and farm buildings, for shelter. According to the researchers cited by the publication, these buildings can also become strategic points for monitoring the population.
Movement cameras recorded horses 35 times in nine of 10 structures monitored during the winter and 149 times in all eight structures observed in the summer. In several cases, the animals spent more than five consecutive hours inside buildings.
And the horses weren’t alone. During the summer, the same sites were also used by hares, deer, elk, wild boar, red foxes, raccoon dogs, Eurasian lynxes and wolves, as well as various birds and bats. CEZ will have become a active ecosystemdespite radioactive contamination.
The recovery of fauna is one of the most unexpected results of the Chernobyl accident, which led to the permanent evacuation of more than 116,000 people. A 2015 study had already concluded that the area supports an abundant community of mammals, despite decades of chronic radiation exposure.
Despite everything, investigators emphasize that the investigation on the Ukrainian side has been intermittent since 2022 due to the war. Forest fires have also made monitoring difficult.
