Polar Bears Run This Abandoned Island, And They Are Enjoying Every Minute Of It
Polar bears do not usually turn abandoned buildings into their own private hangout, but that is exactly what happened on Kolyuchin Island. Wildlife photographer Dmitry Kokh set out for a remote Arctic expedition and ended up capturing one of the strangest scenes imaginable, bears peering out from the windows of a deserted meteorological station.
The island sits in Russia's Chukchi Sea, far from any normal tourist route, and the old Soviet-era outpost has been empty for decades. What Kokh found there was a mix of eerie ruins, rough weather, and a group of polar bears that seemed completely at home.
His photos turned an unexpected detour into a viral wildlife moment, and the story only gets better from there.
Dmitry Kokh is a wildlife and underwater photographer.
He had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with polar bears in a place he didn't expect to find them.
Kolyuchin Island is a small piece of land in the Chukchi Sea, a remote area of the Russian Arctic.
Humans have long since left the area and the old meteorological station.
When we passed by Kolyuchin Island near the northern coast of Chukotka, we saw some movement in the windows of the abandoned houses. And when we got close, those were bears!
They had never been seen in those buildings before, so that was a once-in-a-lifetime situation.
Other creatures are making themselves comfortable now.
We can see these incredible creatures lounging on the grass.
During the Soviet era, there was a weather station on Kolyuchin Island. Despite the fact that the station was closed in 1992, the abandoned settlement on the island still exists.
The severe wind and rain, along with the abandoned structures on the rocky coastlines, make the surroundings look very surreal. We bet the sudden appearance of polar bears didn't make it any less surreal.
It also echoes the starving bear footage that laid bare climate change’s cruel impact.
Or taking a walk.
Nature always sends you something when you least expect it.
“Nature always sends you something when you least expect it,” Kokh says.
"When we passed by Kolyuchin Island near the northern coast of Chukotka, we saw some movement in the windows of the abandoned houses."
And how did the polar bears get to the island? Well, they swam.
Polar bears can swim vast distances and steadily for several hours to move from one sheet of ice to another, and they can achieve speeds of up to 6 mph in the water. Their large paws are specifically designed for swimming, and they use them to paddle through the water while keeping their rear legs flat like a rudder.
Want more grit like Gilardini, who lasted 117 hours in brutal cold for polar bear shots?
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