Life after Chernobyl

SIR – I was surprised to read that Chernobyl’s wasteland is becoming a “wildlife haven” (report, April 25).

I visited the site at the end of last year, staying for two days at the centre of the restricted zone and exploring – by bus and on foot – many square miles. Apart from outsize catfish, more than three feet long, there was almost no sign of wildlife; no wild boar, wolves, horses, elk or deer. The only signs of life I came across were a few red ants, a couple of beetles, one white butterfly and the sound, but not the sight, of a bird. There were five cats and two dogs, but they were pets at manned checkpoints and a hostel. Veronica Timperley London W1