In 1953, North and South Korea established a demilitarised zone; decades later it is a 155-mile-long wildlife haven

Soldiers on both sides stand behind fences and in between are thousands of landmines. For more than 70 years, humans have not ventured into a 155-mile-long corridor that divides two nations, North and South Korea. While boundaries and borders can ward people off, nature is above all such regulations. This is probably why a space where beings seldom step in has transformed into a surprising wildlife haven for flora and fauna.The Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) was created by the armistice that halted the Korean War in 1953. To date, it remains surrounded by soldiers, fences, watchtowers and landmines, making it one of the most fortified and militarised borders in the world. For humans, it is among the most forbidden places on Earth, but for wildlife it is a home they return to.A wildlife havenDMZ extends about 155 miles across the Korean Peninsula and is about 2.5 miles wide. It covers everything 2 kilometres north and south of the border between the two countries. Since civilian access to the area is severely restricted, it has escaped the trenches of roads, buildings and intensive farming found elsewhere. According to surveys, in the past seven decades, 6,168 species have been ide...