Polar Bears Make Abandoned Buildings Their Homes, Russian Photographer Captures Them Beautifully
Polar bears are usually pictured on sea ice, not inside abandoned buildings, which is exactly why Dmitry Kokh’s photos feel so striking. On Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea, a long-closed weather station became an unexpected shelter for a group of bears, turning a decaying Arctic outpost into something strangely beautiful.
The station has been empty since 1992, but these polar bears made the ruins their own, peering through broken windows and lounging around the old structure. Kokh had traveled to Russia’s far eastern Arctic hoping to photograph bears in a more natural setting, only to stumble onto this surreal scene instead.
The result is part eerie, part magical, and completely unforgettable. Read on.
Dmitry Kokh took some amazing and mesmerizing photos of polar bears hanging around an abandoned weather station.
This photo is titled "Summer Season," showing a polar bear in the window. It became the best representation of wildlife in a man-made environment, as awarded in a competition by a magazine called Russia's Wildlife.
He had to travel to the far eastern part of the Russian Arctic just to get these beautiful shots.
This is how the abandoned weather station on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea looks from a distance.
The setting already looks unreal before the bears even appear.
“Finally getting back from a long-awaited trip to Chukotka and Wrangel Island. Being the farthest and most eastern part of the Russian Arctic, this place is very hard to reach but also difficult to forget. We traveled by sailing yacht along the coast and covered more than 1,200 miles of untouched landscapes, villages lost in time, diverse fauna, and seas full of life,” Dmitry said on his Instagram.
Just look at these two peeking out like nosy neighbors.
This eerily looks like the end of the world.
Looks like something out of a movie, too!
Then the bears start showing up in the windows, and the whole place comes alive.
“I always wanted to get some nice shots of polar bears, and that was the main target of our expedition,” said the photographer.
What are you looking at?
A beautiful shot.
Dmitry also captured some photos of these polar bears enjoying a more natural habitat.
They seem to enjoy being photographed, too!
Dmitry also captured some photos of these polar bears enjoying a more natural habitat.
We are truly grateful to these wildlife photographers for allowing us to witness these beautiful moments in nature. There are so many amazing things in this world that need to be captured, but unfortunately, sometimes the photos don't do justice to how beautiful they really are up close!
Dmitry did a fantastic job capturing these polar bears, though. Share this article with all your family and friends to see!
It is hard to forget polar bears turning an abandoned station into their own hideout.
Up next, see how photographer Gilardini endured 117 hours of brutal cold to get polar bear shots.
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