A friendly fox in Pripyat, Chernobyl exclusion zone
*happy cheerful music as fox plays in deserted nuclear radiation land*
This is the aesthetic
Fun facts about the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone:
1) Most of it is pretty safe, even for long periods of time. In fact about 200 native people still live there, but no new settlement is allowed, so that number has declined from about 1200 after the zone was created in 1986.
2)The zone has become an unintentional animal reserve. Its ~1000 square miles of uninhabited forest. Poaching happens, but not to the degree one might expect due to the fear of radiation. Also as a consequence there are lots of human friendly animals like this fox. Most of the humans they do see are tourists that regularly feed them.
3) Its one big science experiment on post human occupation, environmental contamination, and radioactive degradation. Weve actually learned a hell of a lot about what would happen to a city after everyone leaves and how nature takes back over thanks to the city of Pripyat. And how the environment adapts to sudden changes and evolves. A fungus was desvovered in and around the Chernobyl Disaster Site that creates chemical energy out gamma radiation emitted from the melted down core. Something biologists had only theorized as even possible a few years ago, and heres this fungus feeding on it. Its crazy man!
Having a hard day? Turn up the sound and let Max lull you.
In case anyone else was worried about why this cat is looking so domestic, here’s the video description:
Max Lynx, the educational animal ambassador takes a moment to get some good scratchin’ before he sits down for his meal. He was born at a zoo in May 2011. He’s not completely domesticated but not wild either. He educates the public on the endangered Canada Lynx in hopes that people will be driven to conserve our environment and protect our wildlife.
WHAT A WONDERFUL SOUND. WHAT AN EXCELLENT CAT.
(And wow, just commentary on body language, whoever this human is, Max trusts them ENTIRELY. Not only is he nuzzling and purring, he’s showing his belly and giving them his throat for pets and scritchies. That is a HUGE “I Love You” in cat language. Also the paws directing where the scratchies need to go is just adorable.)
More tiny paintings! These ones are for Mondo Gallery’s third House Party group show, in which all works are priced at $200. It’s on view for two days only, this Friday and Saturday in Austin TX.