These amazing snaps show a group of males, females and cubs all chowing down on the remains of a whale carcass.
Usually Polar bears would never tolerate being so close to each other, but with food in plentiful supply they seem too lethargic to fight.
The photographs were taken at the Eskimo village of Kaktovik on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska.
Wildlife photographer Michal Tyl said: "We were invited by our Eskimo friends to join them on a night visit of a whale carcass, which had just been caught and harvested by Eskimos.
"Being one of the
first nations, Inupiat Eskimos from Kaktovik have the right to catch and
harvest three whales every year, which they do in autumn."The polar bears who come to Kaktovik in autumn swim from free-flowing ice further north and have learned that there is always something left for them from the whale once the Eskimos have removed all the 'good pieces'.
"What is left are mostly bones with bits of meat - more than enough to feed the hungry bears for the day."
The 32-year-old added: "We went in a small group of four and came to see an amazing spectacle.
"It was a feast of over 20 bears of all sizes, from small cubs to large males. They were all dirty from mud and blood, chewing, cracking bones, squelching and growling.
"The larger bears were easily dealing with huge whale ribs as if they didn't weigh anything.
"Bear sows were letting their cubs squeeze in next to male bears, although this would never be possible during the day.
"Their only goal was to get as fat as possible, quickly. Some of them could hardly drag their bellies, since this was their second whale of the year and they were already full after finishing the leftovers from the first one."
Polar bears are considered one of the few animals who actively hunt humans - but Mr Tyl said he felt relaxed among them.
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