“Extinct” Bird Spotted… in a Surprising Location!

A population of eagles that was once declared to be completely extinct in Western Europe has been found in an unexpected place: Ukraine’s Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. 

Thirteen pairs of the Greater Spotted Eagle have been found living within the exclusion zone, an area that the public has not been permitted to enter for the last 35 years.

“The colonization of Greater Spotted Eagle and its continued increase in abundance is one of the most remarkable findings of our study. [It shows that] nature can recover with little or no management by people,” says study author Adham Ashton-Butt and team. Another rare bird, the White-tailed Eagle, was also found in the exclusion zone. 

Despite the radiation, the lack of human interference has allowed these rare and endangered birds to live and reproduce. In a recent study, researchers cited a 680 percent increase in wetlands and bogs and a 14 percent increase of forest in the area — both of which provide a better habitat for the birds.