A red fox is spotted near the town of Chernobyl in 2022. (Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
Share this article Join the conversation
Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter
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.
Researchers discovered the changes by comparing footage from camera traps collected during the early months of Russia's 2022 invasion with recordings from the same period a year earlier, before the conflict began. The findings, published Thursday (June 18) in the journal Science, offer a rare glimpse of how animals respond to the immediate disruption caused by warfare.
"I wish the opportunity to analyze how the unfolding invasion affected wildlife ha[d] never happened," Svitlana Kudrenko, an assistant professor of ecology at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg in Germany, told Live Science in an email. "Unlike in preindustrial times, current interstate conflicts are highly detrimental for wildlife because of a long list of warfare, often operated remotely."
The study took place in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a roughly 1,000-square-mile (2,600 square kilometers) area surrounding the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Following the reactor explosion, authorities evacuated the region and restricted most human activity. Over the decades, with little to no human activity, wildlife populations have flourished, turning the zone into a natural laboratory for scientists studying ecosystem recovery and animal behavior.
Image 1 of 4
(Image credit: Denys Vyshnevskyi)
Researchers revisit the Chernobyl exclusion zone in 2025, after the Russian invasion.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
Black storks and a gray heron rest on metal structures at the former cooling pond of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 2020.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
An aerial view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant cooling pond in 2019.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
A view inside the Chernobyl power plant cooling tower.
But in February 2022, Russian forces seized control of the region during the beginning stages of the invasion of Ukraine. Military vehicles, troop movements, weapons being fired and other wartime disturbances suddenly transformed one of Europe's most unusual wildlife refuges into an active war zone.
To investigate the impact, researchers analyzed data from camera traps already operating in the exclusion zone from 2020 to 2022. Studying the ecological effects of armed conflict is difficult because war zones are dangerous and often hard for researchers to access.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By using the existing network of automated cameras, the scientists captured wildlife responses that would have been impossible to record otherwise. In total, the team analyzed almost 2,000 photographs and videos from the exclusion zone to build a picture of behavioral changes in response to the conflict.
The images and footage revealed responses from 11 wild mammal species, showing that some animals changed their behavior during periods of heavier fighting.
Image 1 of 4
(Image credit: Kudrenko et al (2026))
Roe deer are spotted near the Uzh River in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
Przewalski's horses are seen near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 2020.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
Roe deer bound across a road in an abandoned village of Kupovate in 2024.
(Image credit: Kateryna Korepanova)
Gas masks were left behind after the evacuation of Chernobyl in 1986.
Several mammal species — including roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), moose (Alces alces) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) — were less active during the occupation than before the conflict, especially at night, the team reported.
The findings suggest that the impact of conflict can ripple through entire ecosystems. While Russia no longer occupies the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the authors highlighted that this study still shows how animal behavior can adapt to warfare.
Related stories
Camera traps could become a valuable tool for measuring the environmental costs of conflict and understanding how wildlife copes with sudden human disturbances across the globe, the researchers added.
"Our study highlights the need to develop and implement research and conservation strategies focusing on armed conflict impacts on wildlife and environment in general, especially in areas of conservation importance," Kudrenko said.
Article Sources
Kudrenko, S., Vyshnevskyi, D., Korepanova, K., Bischof, R., Zedrosser, A., Selva, N., Domashevskyi, S., Obrizan, S., Gahbauer, M., Borsuk, O., Varukha, A., & Heurich, M. (2026). Changes in wildlife activity patterns in response to war in Ukraine. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aed1493
What do you know about the animal kingdom? Test your knowledge with our animal quiz!
TOPICS
Kenna Hughes-CastleberryContent Manager, Live Science
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Content Manager at Live Science. Formerly, she was the Content Manager at Space.com and before that the Science Communicator at JILA, a physics research institute. Kenna is also a book author, with her upcoming book 'Octopus X' scheduled for release in spring of 2027. Her beats include physics, health, environmental science, technology, AI, animal intelligence, corvids, and cephalopods.
View More
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Logout
