It's been a good week for … bears
It's been a good week for … bears
Scientists have captured what is thought to be the first photographic evidence of brown bears within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Camera traps, used by a project assessing radioactive exposure on wildlife, recorded the images.
The exclusion zone was set up after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in April 1986.
Project leader Mike Wood from the University of Salford said: "Our Ukrainian colleague, Sergey Gashchak, had several of his camera traps running in one of our central areas over the past few months in order to start to get a feel for what [wildlife] was there."
He confirmed that data retrieved from one of the cameras contained images of a brown bear, adding: "We are basically working on the assumption that as you move people out of the equation, and human pressure and disturbance is removed, then any animals that have a corridor into the exclusion zone find they are suddenly away from the pressures and dangers presented by people."
Following the explosion - described as the world's worst nuclear power plant accident - more than 110,000 people were moved from their homes as a 30km-radius exclusion zone was established around the damaged reactor.
The team's project is part of a five-year research programme which aims to "reduce uncertainty in estimating the risk to humans and wildlife associated with exposure to radioactivity and to reduce unnecessary conservatism in risk calculations".
It's good to know the bears are back - but the footage is grainy and it's hard to tell if they happen to have six legs …
It's been a bad week for … flying
Passengers due to take off on a flight in Siberia had to get out and push the plane after its brake pads froze.
The plane was trying to take off from the Russian town of Igarka, but was unable to move after the temperature fell to -52C. Passengers apparently offered to lend a hand rather than face a delay.
The Katekavia airline flight eventually took off and landed safely in the city of Krasnoyarsk. Western Siberia state transport prosecutors are now checking whether the airport, airline, crew or passengers broke any air safety laws.
It's something that might catch on with some of the more thrifty airlines.
They'd probably charge you not to have to push the plane.
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