11 strange events that happened after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident

Even medical professionals were plagued with "radiophobia," or fear of radiation, in the disaster's immediate wake. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that between 100,000 to 200,000 pregnancies were terminated by mothers in Western Europe who had been advised that Chernobyl could provoke health issues in their unborn children.

Twenty years after the accident, the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that radiation doses weren't high enough to cause "adverse pregnancy outcomes." While the nation of Belarus did see a rise in children with birth defects, WHO attributed the spike to more accurate reporting of these cases.

In the years following the disaster, graffiti artists have traveled to the exclusion zone to paint commemorative murals and portraits. One motif seen throughout the area is a series of shadowy, child-like figures that are said to represent the ghosts of former residents.

Photographer David McMillan paid multiple visits to the exclusion zone over the course of 25 years. His photo series captures the rapid decay of artifacts and Soviet propaganda material left behind by residents.

By 2009, a portrait of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Russian Communist Party, had all but disappeared. Other sites such an abandoned book store and the empty amusement park were engulfed with vegetation.

Read more: A photographer visited the abandoned towns around Chernobyl more than 20 times over the past 25 years

Contrary to how it might seem, the haunting dolls scattered throughout the Chernobyl exclusion zone weren't left there by residents. Most were likely arranged by "disaster tourists," who have taken to placing the dolls on windowsills and the beds of an abandoned kindergarten for dramatic effect.

The water and soil in the Chernobyl exclusion zone is still contaminated, so it's against the law to live there. Still, the land isn't entirely deserted. In the wake of the disaster, hundreds of local residents returned to their villages despite safety warnings that should have barred them from entering.

The group, known as self-settlers, has adjusted to a quiet life among elevated levels of radiation. Most of them are elderly women in their 70s and 80s who have garnered the affectionate nickname "Chernobyl's babushkas."

Read more: Photos show what daily life is really like inside Chernobyl's exclusion zone, one of the most polluted areas in the world

When residents of Pripyat were forced to evacuate their homes, they weren't permitted to bring their dogs, who reportedly chased after their owners as the buses trailed away for good. Today, the descendants of these pets roam the exclusion zone.

While some have fallen prey to wolves, others have reportedly started mating with them. The dogs that survive are often large, sturdy breeds whose appearance is indeed wolf-like.

Read more: Chernobyl workers are adopting the site's contaminated dogs, but not all of them are safe to pet

Prior to the disaster, the European brown bear hadn't been seen in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in more than a century. But in 2014, a Ukrainian biologist recorded a brown bear sighting in the area. The presence of these bears was also documented a few years prior, suggesting that the bears have re-colonized the region.

Read more: There's a thriving population of radioactive animals that have taken over the abandoned Chernobyl exclusion zone, even though the area is toxic for humans

Przewalski's horses were released into the wilderness near the nuclear power plant in 1998 as part of a conservation effort to save the species from extinction. The horses now appear to be thriving in the absence of humans.

To this day, some of Chernobyl's smaller animals such as birds, rodents, and insects continue to display mutations that scientists attribute to radiation levels. These abnormalities include tumors, cataracts, and smaller brains, which may persist for generations but aren't likely to permanently affect the species.

One toxin released during the accident was cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that can pose a danger to humans for at least a generation.

In 2018, scientists reported that cows were still consuming cesium-137 in their vegetation and transferring the toxin to humans through milk. The study, published in the journal Environment International, found that milk in Ukrainian villages far away from the Chernobyl power plant contained five times the amount of cesium that was considered safe for adults and 12 times the safe limit for children.