Large animals, and while the area is acting as somewhat of a refuge for them they depend on mobility from surrounding areas with more ordinary ecology. Smaller

Large animals, and while the area is acting as somewhat of a refuge for them they depend on mobility from surrounding areas with more ordinary ecology. Smaller forms of life have been profoundly impacted, and microbial life is so void there organic matter does not break down at regular rates. This has resulted in a buildup of petrified, dead organic matter that poses an elevated risk of wildfire. If/when it happens, radioactive material will be ejected into the atmosphere from the site once again. Long-term research is showing that some medium-sized forms of life which we expected to do badly, such as mice and voles, seem to have some inherent resilience to radiation exposure in the area. On the other hands similar sized animals such as birds show a significantly higher rate of abnormalities. 'There's wildlife in chernobyl' is often mentioned to argue that we overestimate the harm from nuclear incidents - The reality is more complex.