At a Glance

Researchers used fish carcasses and cameras to identify scavengers near the site of the 1986 nuclear accident.They identified 10 mammal species and five bird species.The study also shows how scavenging activity can connect food webs, the scientists said.

The area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in April 1986, may be nearly devoid of human life, but wildlife is thriving there.

A University of Georgia study using fish carcasses and motion-activated cameras found an abundance of diverse wildlife in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The zone is a 1,000-square-mile area that was evacuated after the accident at the plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in what was then the Soviet Union.

It's illegal to live in the zone, which is about 80 miles north of Kiev, but 130 to 150 , according to BBC.com.

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About 5,000 people work in the zone, and there's even a , according to Mental Floss.

Scientists have long been interested in wildlife in the zone. A 2015 study found an abundance of wildlife, including gray wolves.

In this latest study, , the researchers sighted five bird species, including white-tailed eagles, and 10 mammals, including , according to a news release about the project.

Ten mammalian and five avian species were documented scavenging fish carcasses in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone including Eurasian jays (a), raccoon dogs (b), Eurasian otters (c) and wolves (d).

(Univerisity of Georgia)

To find the animals, fish carcasses were placed along the bank of the Pripyat River and beside nearby irrigation canals. Cameras recorded what type of animal came along to eat each carcass.

Carcasses were monitored for a week. Of the usable trials, 98 percent were scavenged, the study said.

"This is a high rate of scavenging, and given that all our carcasses were consumed by terrestrial or semi-aquatic species, it verifies that the movement of nutritional resources between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems occurs more frequently than often recognized," said James Beasley, a co-author of the study and associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

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Peter Schlichting, an SREL postdoctoral researcher at the time of the study, was the lead investigator. He said previous studies showed that scavenging activity can connect various food webs, but scientists don't fully understand how this occurs.

Beasley said, "We tend to think of fish and other aquatic animals as staying in the aquatic ecosystem. This research shows us that if a reasonable proportion of dead fish make it to shore, there is an entire group of terrestrial and semi-aquatic species that transfer those aquatic nutrients to the terrestrial landscape."

The mammal species identified in the study were the striped field mouse, yellow-necked mouse, harvest mouse, least weasel, pine marten, red fox, raccoon dogs, American mink, Eurasian otter and wolves.

The bird species included the Eurasian jay and common magpie, raven, tawny owl and white-tailed eagle.