"There are persistent reports of animals born with extraordinary deformities." In today's documentary, we're covering the disturbing history and aftermath of Chernobyl. [Video] [Imagery] supplied by Getty Images.
A friend of mine was living in far off Warsaw at the time. They were told, "No cause for concern". All the plants on their balcony suddenly died. The milk and other things in the fridge spoiled. And authorities started showing up at the door with vaccines for his daughter. He took off for Rome. Good move on all fronts.
If a "vaccine" is being brought around by the government and you are told to take it without any explanation or one that goes into no details.... OR.... your government says you must take this "vaccine" for "the good of all" and if you don't you will lose your job, home, freedom, etc., say No and stand by than answer.
I suspect dogs and wolves thrive because like you said, most do not live beyond 4-6 and dogs can reproduce rapidly at as young as 1 year of age, so they keep replenishing the population faster than they die off. Additionally, canines have what is called a slippery genome. It means they can react very quickly to environmental pressures. Essentially, canines adapt faster and evolve faster than any other mammal. They might be becoming increasingly immune to the damage of radiation. There's also survivorship bias. We're looking at the animals who lived, not the sheer numbers of dead.
we gotta account for migrating animals as well, wild elk, deer, moose don't stay in 1 spot, they move, so they're not isolated in the exclusion zone for the whole year, and the wolves will follow prey animals, so they're also in and out of the exclusion zone, which is probably why they're thriving and not as affected like cows and sheep are.
On the same thread of how Chernobyl was devastating to people and children, I'd like to see EWU's research findings on the Thalidomide tragedy. Not a lot of people know about it, when a whole generation was affected by it.
It’s crazy how many people are unaware of the thalidomide tragedy. It’s like the whole thing was purposely pushed under the rug until recently because the VICTIMS have come out. I learned about it in college and I have always wondered why there is so little information on what happened to these people.
So true they also got no compensation - theres also alot of factory workers who worked with toxic chemicals and didnt know and have cancers and other diseases now x
Insects have fewer genes. Fewer genes mean that if a gene does mutate, it has a much bigger effect on the animal. Humans have longer life spans than most animals, which means it takes longer for humans to have the same number of generations than it does for those animals. The animals who had more life-threatening mutations have already died out in previous generations and with each generation, the offspring who are not fit for survival will simply be selected out, making the next generation less affected by genetic disease.
Late comment, but also keep in mind the gene pole is not closed in Chernobyl which could be the reason why the more common animals seem to be less affected by the radiation because there is always a genetic exchange with other specimen coming from outside the exclusion zone.
Was watching the video irritated that he kept positing that we didn't understand why this species did, and this one didn't. Was going to post about the level of complexity in organisms etc. But glad someone was using critical thinking.
The conditions of the completely overrun care homes are just devastating. The children in those homes have not only disabilities that affect their life expectancy and quality, but also none of the emotional care that they need. They are so deprived of _love._ It's really awful.
I can't help thinking the poor souls would have been better off dying from their conditions rather than live in a cold, sterile, loveless environment. It's just horrible
for me that is the moral of this video, human presence is more harming to nature than lethal dosis of radiation, that should make us meditate or as they say, "let that one sink"
For some reason, the abandonment of the animals just is heartbreaking. Poor things had no idea why or when their owners were coming back. Human suffering isn’t as hard for me to listen too bc of movies and such. It’s desensitizing to a degree. But not animals. There’s a reason why they leave animal abuse or the harm of the animals outta movies Edit: holy crap these mutations are insane 😰😰 hard to imagine real people had to deal with that
The children are suffering too. Don't let movies make you forget you are human too. And as much as I love animals the innocent children should come first.
@@DammnDeejay sorry. I didn't mean too. I was densenitzed but I'm not anymore. Its not your fault. Its the way we have been conditioned. Especially when I don't have children. But I was told something similar as to what I said to you and it made me reevaluate. Sorry if I made you feel bad. I know you are a good person.
@@matthewjdouglas6471 I don’t have children, but I didn’t wanna say that as an excuse ya know! The same way you were told something to make you reevaluate, you e done the same for me. I also had to reflect. It’s good to pass that down so we can have broader perspectives. You seem to be a kid person yourself ❤️ unique hearts unite as always!
I know what most people are focusing on from this documentary but just put into perspective that at the start of this video you had a British Guy from the South West of England talking about his sheep, and how the radiation had soaked into the ground (from Pripyat in the Ukraine). We have to be bloody careful with this nuclear technology for all life. Just to further put things into perspective, at least once a year sand is deposited from the Sahara across the UK in the rain. With how winds work, if we were ever to have some major nuclear incident (including TNW) everyone would be effected, no matter where they are on Earth. So, the lesson of this story; don't mess about with technology you don't understand, don't cut corners, don't experiment on live reactors.
My old teacher's friend was camping on a mountain in Wales when the plume came over, and both she and her friend developed cancer from being outside in the dust for several days. My teacher's friend did end up dying from it.
My younger sister and I didn’t know the ash on our car was radioactive, and we ran our fingers through it like it was snow or normal dust. I just had half of my thyroid removed a couple years ago because of thyroid cancer. We lived in Belgium at the time. It truly is terrifying.
I know many many people were affected by the Chernobyl explosion and my heart goes out to them. The animals tho...especially pets...is soul crushing. I can't imagine having to leave the only home you know AND leave your dog whose chasing the bus your in. What can be done about 2000 stray dogs who are "mutant"? I dunno but surely something should've been done a long time ago.
The idea of leaving a dog behind to find out someone went into my home and shot her would break me inside. Nothing hurts more then thinking of a dog confused and scared. At least people knew what was happening around them but the pets, especially dogs, would have been terribly confused by this.
Dogs sense things more,smell..atmosphere heat rise etc...actually seing radiation in the air! They knew something was wrong but obviously not as humans knew,but knew too late to get out without major defects to come for generations...
Yep. I think I would rather stay and die, than leave my dog and cats. Many probably would have, if they were given the choice, and the information. It was a kindness to put the animals down, but, it's also heartbreaking.
I'mma go out on a limb and say those wolves/stray dogs who were filmed in Chernobyl ARE, in fact, mutated. you just need to go film during a full moon at night.
Exposure is horrific! My grandfather was present while in the Navy, during nuclear bomb testing, and WW2..As his grandchild, both me, and my mom have degenerative oral issues..We are his survivors from poorly organized testing..He died of metastisized cancer.
Nature is so strong... the man says" I don't understand why the animals are thriving?" Well because mother nature will protect them, not humains we don't deserve it.
Radiation is never a good idea...😖 What bothers me more, is that they've known how to pull electricity right out of the air since Tesla. But they just go ahead and do this anyway..
This one was very interesting...those babies at the beginning broke my hreat to pieces! Then to see the animals and to hear of the people leaving their furbabies behind was devastating, I could imagine the pets thinking they did something horrible, or their owners wouldnt have left them...😔 thank you EWU! I cant wait to see what you have in store for us! Stay safe EWU crew! Love from murray Kentucky
Same!!! It’s really horrible what happened and I knew Chernobyl was bad but I didn’t know the full scale of it till I watched an episode of dark tourist and it had an episode about Chernobyl. It’s insane how deadly radiation is and how it effects people
I am from Gomel, the city of Belarus which got hit the most with the winds from Chernobyl, as it's very close to Chernobyl. No mutations in me or my daughter who was born in the end of the 90-s. Actually, we are pretty healthy.
right after the explosion they paid people to try and cover up reactor five and six which we’re located 200 feet away from reactor For my dad did a bunch of welding on reactor six after the explosion that orange metal that is all around the reactor was put on there as quick as it could be but. anyways my dad is 77 and is still healthy
@@travismotorsports9478 I met some helicopter pilots that flew over the reactor. They were definitely not doing well. With radiation, it is, literally, a case of Russian Roulette (pun not intended).
Dogs are so precious, it’s so sad to see them all wondering around Chernobyl being completely clueless to the dangers. Idk about adopting them, but if they go to a nice home then fair enough. Maybe it’s nice for them to just run free for once 🥺 I remember on the tv series the bit when they shot the dogs was probably the saddest part, because they have no clue and it was all due to humans making mistakes
Way I see it if no human will ever live there again WHY kill the dogs & cats. They stay within the zone so don’t do any harm. They keep vermin down by hunting & earring them. Leave Chernobyl to Nature to reclaim.
See here's there thing... After Chernobyl happened they sent in soldiers to kill as many of the cats and dogs they could.... they even portray this in HBO's miniseries of Chernobyl (a must watch if your interested in what happened)... It was heartbreaking to watch, but they did their best to make sure no animals suffered... The soldiers that didn't kill in 1 shot were usually beaten by the other soldiers for letting an animal suffer.
@@martinemjt Japan has recently gotten into a lot of controversy globally because they are going to start dumping the radioactive water used to cool the reactor into the ocean.
The rapid loss of endangered species is probably due to limited genetic variety. When one generation of a species is irradiated it affects the following generations as well, when the gene pool is limited these distortions in DNA are far more catastrophic, rather than a species with greater access to uncorrupted genes. Other factors such as size and diet of the animals are also important to consider.
I can't imagine giving up your pets.. I was tearing up after hearing that and about the other animals. It blows my mind that we as people can't adapt to an area. Like for years we haven't adapted. But the plants and animals in Chernobyl are adapting and thriving.
trust me when i say that algerians went through worst then this when france threw a nuclar bomb to test them on living ppl but intill this days nobody knows about france war crimes against algeria th
people are horny, selfish and shortsighted. why do you think history repeats itself. its like having kids in a 3 world country or having kids in a rich when you still have no way to support them or having kids with an abusive partner. you think, no, that will never happen to me. god will provide!!!
@@Amy_the_Lizard Afaik kids at the time were drinking Lugol's Iodine, at least in southern Poland. That aside, people in Poland were heavily affected by it, and some areas did not receive proper warnings. At the same time, my grandmother's still alive and well to this day, despite the fact she developed a tumor a couple months after the incident.
Abandoned explorer went to Chernobyl twice in 2019 and the footage he filmed was interesting and he even seen some of the animals and they were quite normal like nothing happened to them
Watch Shiey videos. He sneaks in and stays there for a couple days. It just looks like an abandoned town. There's no mutants or anything. Anything that was contaminated was 35 years ago. Nothing alive is anymore except for the red forest.
That's becomes anything that is born mutated normally dies pretty early on in animals. Alot won't even survive birth. Humans have hospitals so they often survive a lot longer.
It's sort of amazing that life still thrives in conditions so hazardous to living organisms. Animals like boars and dogs are still alive regardless of high radiation levels
pigs/boars themselves are pretty interesting. especially since they are the fastest animals to "revere domestication in future generations" (that's the best way i can put it in TLDR format)
Love how he pronounces Hiroshima. This stuff is crazy interesting to me. I just watched uwu’s video about the actual Chernobyl event. I can honestly say, I 100% thought it happened differently than it did. So thank you UWU!! These videos are awesome. And now I feel properly educated on Chernobyl and everything that happened in the several weeks after. 💚💚💚
Literally when did they say that? They said there are far less invertebrates, birds (especially rare ones) were greatly impacted, higher rates of mutations in frogs, etc ….. At the end they said few species may actually be thriving…. but that was it.
I love animals and those picture are heartbreaking but this helps to learn and educate ourselves and I appreciate how respectful you are with these poor beings, no matter if animals of humans that's very appreciated. The poor and mediocre way the government handled this is beyond ridiculous.
One thing I never understand is those who couldn't or didn't leave why have kids? Like I can't imagine wanting a family and it just won't happen or has serious health issues because of this disaster. 😕
@@ellsworthconstructionllc both are bad let's be honest. I think Russians are great. They are our European brothers and sisters. I think the same about our British government. Vile lieing thieving scumbags.
They garden and raise livestock and seem very happy. Government people come out and bring them goods in exchange for their permission to test them and their produce and animals.
Wow this is actually quite remarkable in that animals in the zone are thriving so much and nature but out of the zone theirs deformities etc.. crazy isn't it..love the old lady who hid and refused to leave her home,.apart from a few teeth missing she looked so healthy for her age..Definitely one of the most intriguing places in the world I think .thanks EWU Fam
Our metabolism slows down a lot as we get older. Older people will take longer to develop problems as a result. That is, of course, a generalisation. Most were also past the usual childbearing age. Wild animals are many many times fitter than us humans and, by default, stronger. The weak die young. You would be very lucky to see the deformed offspring of the animals because, they are weaker, die early and get eaten. The deformed offspring don't have to be abnormally radioactive, either. If radiation had hit them during the embryonic stage, then the die is cast for them.
Not all mutations are harmful. Mutations which shorten the lifespan of, or the ability of an organism to reproduce, will do exactly that. Organisms that are more resistant to radiation, and the resultant harmful mutations, will live to reproduce and pass those genes on to offspring which carry the same resistance. Still other organisms may experience a mutation which is beneficial, allowing it to survive to reproduce and pass on those genes to its offspring. 30 years later, in natural populations, only evidence of the strong surviving will be observable at a glance. The mutations that didn't survive, and all the stillbirths are there, we just don't see them because they didn't survive, and natural selection didn't document their loss. People take care of the infirm and the things we value, and we document the horrors of those who didn't survive along the way. Without human intervention, natural selection will cull the weak and favor the strong. Life finds a way, and Chernobyl will undoubtedly provide countless examples of natural selection at work in the decades to come.
@@nathangarland9453 Ooo does hemp suck out the radiation too? I wonder if it can still be used for paper and things afterwards or if it would be too tainted 🤔 Imagine how great it would be for the environment to be able to clean up and have a better option than deforestation
@@NiaJustNia hemp sucks out many poisons from the soil.i don't mean weed hemp I mean the bulk standard stuff.usa used to make all farmers have at least one field of hemp cos how good it was for the soil.its a great way of cleaning up the place.i don't think it could be used for much else after cleaning radiation soil but its eazy to grow.its a viable option.
@@nathangarland9453 I know, Hemp and Marijuana are from the same family (cannabis sativa), but not the same plant. I'm all for hemp replacing the logging industry
I live near Three Mile Island, and there are still places where mutant animals are born and mutant plants grow. Ever see a 6' dandelion? I have. We have a high incidence of thyroid issues of all kinds, and after about 20-25 years rare cancers started showing up in residents here (including my mother, she not only had a rare cancer but also has thyroid issues... she's 99 now and incredibly resilient).
@@janetbyrd1065 He can't, cause 3 mile island had like next to no radiation at all. It was an incident entirely overblown by media. It was calculated that 0.6 people died (as an average) from the radiation. Basically meaning not enough was released to kill one person.
Couldn‘t the reason for the differences we perceive between insects and bigger animals also be attributed to the fact, that humans tend to effect the lives of bigger animals way more than the lives of insects. The absence of humans effects bigger animals way more. I mean that could also be part of an explanation.
that lady that stayed in chernobyl although her screen time was very short lived she seemed like a really awesome person jumping around and dancing while waving bye to the camera crew
This is a prime example of correlation not equaling causation. While it may have cause some of those mutation, those conditions also happen randomly all around the world, including places where no radiation from that accident happened. You can not assume that it caused all of it, though it will increase the frequency of this happening, it is not necessarily the cause. Similarly, non radioactive pollution, like chemical pollution can have the same effect. Animals are thriving there because we aren't. WE where the biggest predator there, and we left it to nature, so yeah, thats why its thriving. We are far deadlier than radiation.
I feel like humans will probably live there in 100 years and if not there's no way it take 20k years for us to live there .we'll most likely find a way to clean radiation fully and 20k years we'll probably be in Andromeda or populate our solar system
The animals living there now have mutations that allow them to live in that environment. In the same way that all positive mutations work, a giraffes long neck for example enabled it to reach food at higher levels. This enabled those longer neck animals to reproduce and the genes continued down the line leading to longer and longer necks. If you know how genetics work you can make sense of it.
I mean, the dogs are by all means, wild animals and living 4-6 years is pretty normal for wild animals. Wild animals don't live very long. The average lifespan of a wolf is only about 5 years.
The reason that the animals thrive in the exclusion zone is simply because the presence of humans affected the population far more that chronic radiation does. The animals may have shorter lifespans, and some animals may be born with mutations, but the increased birth rate means that those affected animals can die and the overall population will be unaffected.
it’s because some mutations aren’t so bad in some individual animals, so they are able to mate before dying. Soviet soldiers were there to execute animals in the area, since Russia was scared that they would pass radiation to us. Only some animals strive, most can’t even walk. Either way, having less DNA than original species DNA leads to death for all individuals at some point
Cool video but you seem a little confused about the difference between radioactive and irradiated, or at least are not making the difference clear in your narration. My best guess about the wildlife surviving would be that since the animals have shorter lifespans than humans they aren't living long enough to develop cancer but I could be way off.
I get the theory but I don't think it holds water since all sorts of animals get cancer, like rats only live 1½-3 years and they get and die of cancer like 30% of the time. Is just works faster on small animals.
This was the hardest video I have watched in a long time. I'm vegietarian because of my love for animals and that love for animals is why I watched it. Ignoring them and not acknowledging what they are going through is something I'm comfortable with. People are always showing the human side and forgetting that animals suffered too. So thank you for reminding people about this x
Could it even be possible that the marine life was terribly effected aswel? Imagine such creatures that were made.. in the ocean. There are already so many "normal" marine creatures we still are wrapping our heads around let alone the mutated ones.
I am from Ukraine Odessa, and I was born in 1988 so glad I’m not deformed or anything but most importantly Im so happy for the animals they deserved so much. We as humans always ruining everything for the animals but know in Chernobyl I’m glad animals overtook that place and living their life’s to the fullest. I love animals more than anything. The animals might not live more then 4-6 years but at least humans do not bother them and they are living their lives as they should.
I would have never ever left without my dog, he is my life, if he hadn’t mysteriously came into my life when he did I truly don’t think I would still be here today or would be in jail !!! God bless him 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
That is so amazing! Dogs truly are some special friends 🙈❤️ But in case of the evacuation I would sadly have to say that you would have had to leave him there. Truly heartbreaking.
Yes you would have. Under threat of life and limb you would. The people were told they would only be out of their homes for a few days. You would have believed them or been shot. Get out of hypothetical land.
EWU: Some of the rarer birds have drastically declined Why? Me: 🤷♀️ Answer: Because perhaps that is why they are rarer birds, considering they have drastically declined.
Could some of the reason that animals are doing well, is that fresh stock from less radiatied places are moving in to the area because of the lack of human activity. Therefore strengthening the genetic pool.
I remember it faintly i was 2 years old and we were driving to our summer cabin with my parents, and they heard that had happened in Tsernobyl, and then when we arrived my mom gave me jodi-tablet. They were so afraid it would spread to Finland.
Another factor is that we generally record the effect of the radiation on every individual human, but do not have access to every wild-living animal. We therefore perceive a much worse impact on humans, and only see the successfully-surviving individuals of a wild-living animal population.
Tbh though, the cats are probably better off than the dogs (I could be wrong, but we have way more "feral" cats than dogs in my area) I would ever want to make a decision like that though (not that they had much of a choice)
“So, we know what happened to the humans, but what about the animals?” Is like saying “so, we know what happened to the roses, but what about the flowers?” Lol LMAOOOOOOO
Please keep in mind the Japans necular disaster 90+ radiation is in the ocean,( how is the salmon from Alaska I ask) we are all guilty of chocking Mother Earth, but it falls on deaf ears.there is an Elephant in the living room,but nobody mentioned it.
Raccoon dogs are canids. (Family Canidae) They are quite closely related to foxes. They have absolutely no relation to raccoons except that they are carnivores. You could say Racoon dogs are more closely related to bears or even moreso to your pet dog than they are to raccoons!
once the initial radioactive ground zero animals died off the area was open to other healthier animals from other areas took up residence in the exclusion zone and surrounding area. moving into the area that is still highly contaminated will shorten their life spans and cause reproduction issues but not the server deformities you saw with the original animals that died off.
THIS is the exact science/radioactivity curiosity mini documentary I have needed. Ive been so curious how life has been in the evacuation zone! So cool 👍
I would assume that humans don't tolerate radiation as well as the animals do because humans take longer to become sexually active so they take longer to breed radioactive resistant species whereas dogs and birds become sexually mature much sooner and can have multiple babies at once.
this is the life we live in, while the rich gets richer and poisoning our people we become more and more poorer living the best way possible to survive
The reason spiders, grasshoppers, bees, etc. are at such a population plummet, are bc these insects lay their eggs on the top layer of soil. The top layer of soil has the highest concentrated amount of radiation. This exorbitant amount of radiation is killing off these breeds of insects bc the eggs aren't hatching under these extreme circumstances.
These poor animals! Although some of them are thriving, I'm very aware that we only see all the survivors - we don't get to see, how many of them were born with deformations and died in agony at some point - especially from the wild species. I agree, lots of the studies don't seem to make sense and/or aren't how I'd had expected; I also wonder if all of them are truthful though, bc Russia has such an authoritarian regime. However, my heart is hurting for the animals and humans alike. :'(
The other thing I'm surprised wasn't theorised as to why the rarer birds were dying out more than the common ones is genetic diversity and shear starting population numbers. If there are more animals, they're probably less inbred and have potentially more ability to survive due to having both an increased potential for the right genes that suit the changed environmen, and more animals to start with to survive the early deaths or sterility that likely occured originally (and probably still are in effect to some degree even now.)
The actual truth is The fact that JAPAN ACTUALLY cleaned the fucking mess up even when they had that earthquake tsunami that made a nuclear reactor go off,m they cleaned and made sure to tell their citizens and what resources and materials they needed to stay safe but Russia just covered it up and forced it more into their grounds.
My heart breaks for these people. I do have to ask though, what did they think was going to happen? We had a nuclear fall out cloud drift over Aniak Alaska in the early 60’s, my Sister was born and couldn’t lay flat for her first year of life, my Brother was going bald by age 16 and my permanent teeth came in already rotten. Nuclear power is great and extremely dangerous.
The radiation cloud that came over Britain killed my mother, her necklace turned black on her neck she later was diagnose with thyroid problems and respiratory issues. For a long time people will die from this disaster.
