Overview

• Russian traveler Vadim Makhorov filmed the bears by drone as they moved through buildings at a long-deserted Soviet-era weather station in the Chukchi Sea.
• The footage, shared by major outlets including the Associated Press and Reuters, shows bears using the structures as shelter and one animal snapping at the drone.
• Makhorov said more than 20 bears are currently active on the island, noting that the animals can congregate when not competing for food.
• Researchers report that polar bears are spending more time on land as sea ice declines, with past events on the island including a whale carcass drawing over 200 bears.
• Local precautions in Arctic settlements include barred windows with spikes and nail-studded boards at doors to deter bears, and there were no reports of official intervention at the site.