Tourists cruising near Russia's Wrangel Island were stunned to see hundreds of polar bears feasting on the remains of a dead whale.
Spotted by passengers aboard the 'Akademik Shokalskiy' earlier this month, the incredible gathering featured both male and female polar bears as well as a number of hungry cubs.
According to the leader of the expedition, Rodney Russ, the group aboard the ship counted 150 polar bears that they could see and a subsequent statement by the nature reserve that the animals call home estimated that were actually an astounding 230 of them.
Reflecting on once-in-a-lifetime experience, Russ marveled on his blog that "today has been one of those days I or anybody else with me will never ever forget. You had to live it to believe it."
In fact, the lucky witnesses to the event were so amazed that they wound up boarding some small Zodiac boats so that they could get a better look at the jaw-dropping polar bear herd.
"That is the memory we will all carry with us … there are no words to describe it," Russ mused.
Fortunately, their boats were far enough away that they did not wind up becoming dessert.
Source: Live Science