Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a carefully manicured image as Russia’s premier macho-man: he’s often seen at the controls of a fighter jet and fly-fishing shirtless. But lately, he’s become a one-man research team.
After shooting a Siberian tiger and tagging a polar bear, he’s now been spotted off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, firing a crossbow at Gray whales. Why? “Because I like it. I love the nature,” he told the Associated Press.
Well, quite.
If we can all stop giggling for a minute, ITAR–TASS has a reasonably good write-up of what the hell he was actually doing out there. Apparently, researchers from the VIIl’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute are interested in knowing whether a population of Gray whales near Kamchatka are descended from a long “extinct” Korean population or another group from California.
How does a crossbow help to settle the debate? Putin was taking skin samples from the whale’s hide, which can be used to trace the animal’s origins. It’s a common way to sample from whales, apparently.
Stay tuned. Who knows where Russia’s firefighter/judo blackbelt/scientist will turn up next?!
Credit: REUTERS/Ria Novosti/Alexei Druzhinin
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Putin’s delight in skill-based adrenalin rushes is a halmark of leadership. Neither the Iron Maiden nor the Teflon President tolerated pease porridge sustainance. Be glad Putin’s adventures exclude rumbling east when Iceland’s voclanic ash grounds NATO airborne interdiction.