The most abandoned place on earth is listed as Hashima Island, Japan. It was once the most densely populated island in the world. It became populated when a coal deposit was found underwater. When the coal ran out, so did the people. This is the Conde Nast article on the 45 places HERE. The pictures are all haunting and eerie. I guess that's what makes us look at the article.
Chernobyl isn't on all of the abandoned lists. The History channel covers it in their 6 famous ghost towns and cities. The city is Pripyat, Ukraine, and previous to the disaster was a town of 14,000 people. The city was sealed off, and what remains are wild dogs roaming through the buildings and streets. And these have become the focus of a genetic study.
Before the Russian invasion, there were over 3,500 people who worked there each day among the more than 500 stray dogs. A genetic study was recently been undertaken of the dog population there now. These are descended from the abandoned pets and the working dogs in the plant. There are genetic differences between the dogs in the plant - which are primarily German shepherds and the dogs elsewhere which are a mix of modern breeds. While the intent of the study is to track the effects of radiation, it has documented the population of 15 different families and tracked how they interact in social groups.
There is a lot of news coverage of the study, so you can find articles everywhere on it. The scientific study is at science.org HERE.
There have been initiatives to help the dogs, and a facebook page tracks this. It is HERE. There are pictures of adopted dogs, so it is encouraging.
It is most curious that Chernobyl is a popular tourist destination. It is for those who want to experience desolation, abandonment and decay. As many as 100,000 people per year visited the area, but none since the Russian invasion. The tour? It is named the 'toxic tour'.
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