News blog

Ahoy harPutin!

Putin.jpgPrime 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, ITARTASS 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

Comments

  1. Report this comment

    Uncle Al said:

    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.

Comments are closed.