Researchers have positive news to share. It’s been three decades now since the Chernobyl nuclear accident took place and there has been quite a transformation as a disaster zone has evolved into a nature zone full of wildlife including elk, deer and wolves.

There is still an exclusion zone, where humans are not allowed to return. But this exclusion zone is not meant for wildlife, as researchers have seen that wildlife is returning into the area. As per the research paper published in the journal Current Biology, the Chernobyl zone, which is around 4,200 square kilometers, is now full of wildlife.

As per the researchers, wolves seem to be in love with the exclusion zone. They also affirmed that now if not more the number of wildlife is where it was before the disaster took place. In 1986, a nuclear reactor explosion and subsequent fire back took place in Chernobyl. Since then, no humans are allowed at the site.

Many researchers said that the number of wildlife within the zone is higher than it was before the explosion happened. There is still radiation and therefore, the researchers have affirmed that it is important not to make assumptions about the wildlife. But presence of wildlife is encouraging.

“These unique data showing a wide range of animals thriving within miles of a major nuclear accident illustrate the resilience of wildlife populations when freed from the pressures of human habitation”, affirmed co-author of the study, Jim Beasley of the University of Georgia in the United States.

"When humans are removed, nature flourishes - even in the wake of the world's worst nuclear accident," said Jim Smith, a specialist in earth and environmental sciences at Britain's University of Portsmouth. "It's very likely that wildlife numbers at Chernobyl are now much higher than they were before the accident."