Tiny Matters Nearly 40 years after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, wildlife is thriving
Jan 8, 2025
Germán Arizala, a zoology professor studying radiation effects on wildlife, and Jennifer Betts, a vet leading animal care and control programs in Chernobyl, discuss life in the exclusion zone. They describe how animal populations rebounded without humans. They cover feral dog care, field safety and monitoring, surprising adaptations like darker frogs, and how findings inform conservation and radiation research.
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Getting Into Chernobyl Is A Multi-Stage Ordeal
- Jennifer Betts describes the logistical and security hurdles researchers face reaching Chernobyl, including checkpoints and radiation control.
- Teams travel from Poland, take long trains to Kyiv, pass multiple military checkpoints, and set up temporary clinics to treat and dosimeter feral dogs.
How Volunteers Care For Dogs Inside The Zone
- Jennifer Betts recounts the Dogs of Chernobyl program workflow from capture to release, including medical care and radiation checks.
- Dogs are dart-tranquilized, frisked for contamination, washed or shaved if needed, spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, ear-tagged, and fitted with dosimeters.
Chernobyl Fieldwork Radiation Comparable To Long Flights
- Germán Arizala compares radiation accumulation from extended fieldwork in the exclusion zone to routine transatlantic flights.
- Two weeks living and working in Chernobyl accumulated about the same radiation dose as two round-trip U.S.–Europe flights.
