The meltdown that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (which had been covered in a previous article) on April 26th, 1986 was the worst nuclear disaster that the world had ever seen. The radiation produced from the meltdown would affect roughly 63,000 square miles and affect 7 million people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Since the disaster, there have been reports from explorers and others (such as the TV show Destination Truth) who claim to have witnessed things such as ghosts, UFO’s or strange, mutated animals. One creature had been reported though that bore an extremely strange resemblance to a cryptid often reported in the United States known as the “Mothman,” although this creature is now known as the “Black Bird of Chernobyl.”
The Black Bird was reportedly first spotted in early April prior to the meltdown at the nuclear plant. People reported having first-hand encounters with the Black Bird, as well as spotting it from afar. Such witnesses even included four workers from the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Strangely, these sightings and encounters were usually accompanied by horrific nightmares, as well as threatening phone calls. As to who was calling the witnesses remains a mystery, although some suggest it could have been the KGB (the reasons as to why government officials would threaten those who witnessed a strange creature also remain unclear).
Sightings of the Black Bird continued to increase throughout the month until Reactor #4 exploded at about 1 A.M. on April 26th, which resulted in the infamous meltdown. During the explosion, numerous firefighters arrived to fight the blaze despite the danger from radiation exposure, which resulted in the deaths of many Soviet firemen. Numerous helicopter pilots would also later die from the radiation, as multiple Soviet helicopters (such as the Mi-8) were used to drop chemicals such as lead, clay and sand on the reactor.
During the fighting of the blaze, workers and firefighters alike reported a strange creature that, despite the incredible amounts of radiation being released from the damaged reactor, appeared to be flying not just near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station but gliding intentionally through the towering radioactive smoke that was rising up from the reactor. While the Black Bird had been spotted prior to the disaster, it was obviously more strange that the creature (whatever it was) would have lingered or come near the plant following not just an explosion but the massive radiation and fires being produced. Even stranger than that, was how after the meltdown at Chernobyl, the Black Bird was never spotted ever again.
As for the description of the Black Bird of Chernobyl, the large creature was reportedly black and bird-like in appearance, with no discernible “head” but possessing two bright red eyes and a twenty-foot wingspan that enabled it to fly. Due to the massive evacuations and the number of people that died from radiation after fighting the fire, the individuals who spotted the creature are either dead or now anonymous, although the description of the creature is eerily similar to the creature spotted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia known as the Mothman. The reasons for this are for the almost identical physical descriptions, but also for how individuals who reportedly saw the Mothman claimed they received strange phone calls as well as being visited by men in black suits who questioned them on what they saw.
Another important factor to note is how Mothman sightings reportedly increased up until the collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15th, 1967, during which the bridge contained rush-hour traffic and resulted in the deaths of forty-six people. Supposedly, the Mothman had been spotted flying back and forth to the bridge immediately prior to the collapse, and was subsequently never spotted ever again. This is similar to how the Black Bird of Chernobyl was spotted in the days leading up to the disaster, but was never spotted again, leading some to believe that it was possibly the same creature, and that it was behind the disasters.
Like other unexplained phenomena reported during the Soviet Union (such as Quackers) there is an extremely small amount of information regarding the Black Bird of Chernobyl, and since it has not been reported since the disaster there are no recent accounts or sightings of the creature to compare to the sparse eyewitness accounts before and during the disaster. Chernobyl itself has been the location of other strange sightings, such as UFO’s and other unexplainable instances, and it appears that the mystery of the Black Bird of Chernobyl will forever remain a mystery.
If you enjoyed this article, follow the blog as the Mothman will be covered in an article of its own in the near future.
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