Polar bears set up home in abandoned 1930s Russian weather station. See pics

Russian wildlife photographer Dmitry Kokh travelled more than 1,2000 miles around the coast of Chukotka in order to reach the country's now deserted Wrangel Island, a nature reserve under Unesco protection that is known for its large polar bear population.
Kokh had spent two years planning for his expedition, but due to stormy weather he had to take a detour a small island, Kolyuchin, to take shelter. There, he spotted a group of polar bears living inside the island's former weather station that used to be operated during the Soviet era before closing in 1992.

Polar bears peer out of an open window. (Image credit: dmitrykokh.com)
Recollecting the moment, Kokh writes in his blog, "The stormy wind, rain, and neglected buildings on the rocky shores all served to make everything happening seem surreal."

"Suddenly, we noticed movement in the windows of the houses. Someone took out some binoculars and we saw the heads of polar bears! Fog, a place long deserted by people, polar bears — it was the perfect setting."

Kokh added that there were around 20 polar bears, most of them males, that he could see walking around the abandoned Russian building, which was built in the 1930s, in scenes that he described as a "once in a lifetime situation".