Overview

• Drone footage by travel blogger Vadim Makhorov shows multiple polar bears moving through wooden buildings on Koljutschin Island in the Chukchi Sea.
• The former polar research station has been uninhabited for more than three decades after scientists left following the Soviet Union’s collapse.
• Makhorov told Reuters the bears seem to use the structures as protection from wind and rain and that they generally coexist there.
• He says he flew the drone slowly to reduce disturbance and reported that no animals were harmed during the shoot.
• Some viewers questioned the video’s authenticity and claimed it was AI-generated, but no evidence has surfaced and Makhorov denies using AI.