article_snippet.sent: Despite the ban on all non-essential workers from living in the Exclusion Zone, wildlife in the area - including foxes - has been thriving .
article_snippet.sent: While all non-essential workers may be banned from living in the zone - and those who do operate on a 15 days on, 15 days off schedule - wildlife in the area is thriving.
article_snippet.sent: Some scientists attribute the proliferation in animal, bird and plant life to the almost 100 per cent absence of humans.
article_snippet.sent: Indeed, in recent years, the area has experienced the reappearance of lynxes, great eagle owls and nesting swans, as well as increased number of deer, foxes and wolves.
article_snippet.sent: But some studies also claim that the radiation has caused biodiversity to decline and have had long-term health effects on animals in the zone, including the massive catfish that call the plant's cooling pond home.