Mammals in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone's Red Forest: a motion-activated camera trap study

Beresford, Nicholas A.; Gashchak, Sergii; Wood, Michael D.; Barnett, Catherine L.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-911-2023

Articles | Volume 15, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-911-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-911-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 2

Data description paper

|

23 Feb 2023

Data description paper |

| 23 Feb 2023

Mammals in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone's Red Forest: a motion-activated camera trap study

Nicholas A. Beresford, Sergii Gashchak, Michael D. Wood, and Catherine L. Barnett

Data sets

Motion-activated camera trap images of wildlife from the Red Forest, Chornobyl, Ukraine C. L. Barnett, S. Gashchak, C. Wells, E. Guliaichenko, M. D. Wood, and N. A. Beresford https://doi.org/10.5285/bf82cec2-5f8a-407c-bf74-f8689ca35e83

Short summary

Camera traps were established in a highly contaminated area of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) to capture images of mammals. Over 1 year, 14 mammal species were recorded. The number of species observed did not vary with estimated radiation exposure. The data will be of value from the perspectives of effects of radiation on wildlife and also rewilding in this large, abandoned area. They may also have value in future studies investigating impacts of recent Russian military action in the CEZ.