Wildlife inside Chernobyl exclusion zone acted differently during Russia's invasion, camera traps reveal

A red fox opens his mouth and looks at the camera in the middle of a snowy landscape.

Camera traps from inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone reveal how the occupation of Russian forces at the site in February and March 2022 altered the behavior of wildlife living in the area.

After the invasion, which involved significant armed conflict inside the exclusion zone, mammals like deer and horses became less active and spent less time moving around at night, a new study reports.