CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) — On contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free.
Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Przewalski’s horses — stocky, sand-colored and almost toy-like in appearance — graze in a radioactive landscape larger than Luxembourg.
On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the nuclear power plant in Ukraine sent radiation across Europe and forced the evacuation of entire towns, displacing tens of thousands. It was the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Four decades on, Chernobyl — which is transliterated as “Chornobyl” in Ukraine — remains too dangerous for humans. But the wildlife has moved back in.
Wolves now prowl the vast no-man’s-land spanning Ukraine and Belarus, and brown bears have returned after more than a century. Populations of lynx, moose, red deer and even free-roaming packs of dogs have rebounded.
Przewalski’s horses, native to Mongolia and once on the brink of disappearing, were introduced here in 1998 as an experiment.
Known as “takhi” in Mongolia (“spirit”), the horses are distinct from domestic breeds, with 33 pairs of chromosomes, compared with 32 in domesticated horses. The modern name comes from the Russian explorer who first formally identified them.
“The fact that Ukraine now has a free-ranging population is something of a small miracle,” said Denys Vyshnevskyi, the zone’s lead nature scientist.
This article by Derek Gatopoulos and Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press was first published by Associated Press on 20 April 2026. Lead Image: Wild Przewalski horses graze in a forest inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Chornobyl is the Ukrainian name for the city. Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press.
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