Polar bears have taken over an abandoned Soviet polar research station on a small island off Russia’s far north-eastern coast.<\/p>\n
Vadim Makhorov, a travel blogger, used a drone to film the bears roaming in and out of the facility’s scattered buildings in the late summer Arctic sun this month on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea.<\/p>\n
One snapped at the drone as it approached, while others playfully poked their heads out of the buildings as they were filmed.<\/p>\n
“I think they see these houses as shelter from the wind, rain and other things,” Mr Makhorov said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A polar bear living in the abandoned Soviet-era research station in Russia. (Reuters: Supplied\/@makhorov on Instagram)<\/p>\n
Scientists left the research station, which is in an abandoned village, soon after the Soviet Union’s collapse over three decades ago.<\/p>\n
Mr Makhorov said more than 20 bears are active on the island itself.<\/p>\n
Polar bears mostly live alone, but they are not inherently antisocial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they are not competing for food or for sexual partners, they can show their sociable side, researchers say<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The research station is based on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea, in Russia’s far north-east. (Reuters: Supplied\/@makhorov on Instagram)<\/p>\n When there is not enough ice, the bears migrate further north in the summer and gather on land to search for food.<\/p>\n Mr Makhorov said a few years ago, a whale carcass attracted more than 200 polar bears.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Everybody ate, no-one disturbed anyone.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Polar bears together in an abandoned building. (Reuters: Supplied\/@makhorov on Instagram)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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