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Polar bears take over abandoned Soviet-era research station

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Alex Mead
featured
Oct 15, 2025

A remote Arctic island once used as a Soviet weather station has become overrun by polar bears.

On Kolyuchin Island, in Russia’s Chukchi Sea, dozens of bears now roam through abandoned buildings and peer from shattered windows.

The Kolyuchin weather station was abandoned in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
An aerial view of an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country’s Far East. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
An aerial view of an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country’s Far East. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
A polar bear yawns on an abandoned porch. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
A polar bear reaches out. @makhorov via REUTERS

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. @makhorov via REUTERS

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
An aerial view of an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country’s Far East. @makhorov via REUTERS

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. AP

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. @makhorov via REUTERS

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. @makhorov via REUTERS

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Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island.
Polar bears are seen at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island. via REUTERS

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