Yesterday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a contribution to scientific research. He assisted biologists in their study of gray whales in Kamchatka. On his fourth try the prime minister managed to hit a gray whale with a syringe shot from a crossbow in order to conduct a biopsy – to take a sample of skin. Scientists can use the sample to determine which group the whale belongs to.
Over the last decade, gray whales, which were almost exterminated by whalers in the 19th century, selected Kamchatka's Olga Bay in the Pacific Ocean as their place of residence. Today, the pod is growing, a fact that makes scientists happy. The whales stay here from late April until December, allowing scientists to conduct a number of research projects.
The prime minister put on an orange wetsuit, took a special crossbow and went to the ocean accompanied by Vladimir Burkanov, a marine mammal specialist from the Pacific Oceanography Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Far Eastern department. They were gone for two hours. Meanwhile the weather started to get rough: clouds hung over the water and it started raining. Those who remained aboard began to look at their watches nervously, but then the prime minister's boat showed up.
"We saw plenty of whales. I think they were playing with us, weren't they?" the prime minister asked Vladimir Burkanov smiling.
"Yes, this time the whales were jumping in a very interesting way."
"They were leaping. There were lots of them," the prime minister carried on.
"Did you see them right away when they were still far off?" the question followed.
"By the spout. Professionals spot them by watching for their spout. We tried to work with three or four whales, but only got one."
The procedure turned out to be less simple than it seemed. In fact, it is forbidden to work under such weather conditions, because the waves are too high. The boat rolls, the whales go underwater and it becomes very difficult to shoot the special arrow from a crossbow and make an accurate shot. But the prime minister succeeded.
"I missed three times and only hit it the fourth time," he said.
"Here's the biopsy," Vladimir Burkanov said, showing off the "catch."
The small harpoon had a tiny piece of skin, which was as big as a child's fingernail. This piece will help identify where this whale came from.
These so-called Korean whales were almost exterminated in the 19th century. And now specialists want to find out whether the mammals, which have been living near the shores of Kamchtaka, are a revival of the Korean whales or part of the so-called California-Chukotka gray whale group, which breed off California and come here for food.
"We need to collect 20-30 samples to be able to tell whether this is a local or a widespread population," Vladimir Burkanov explained. "One sample can tell us with an 80% probability to which group the whale belongs. But to know more, we have to continue our work. This was the first biopsy taken. This is only the beginning of a major research project. Putin took a good shot despite the difficult conditions."
The prime minister was happy to hear the praise. Despite wet feet, (according to the prime minister, the wet suit resists water perfectly, but the shoes leave much to be desired) he described his experience with joy.
"It certainly is extreme, but it's also very interesting and beautiful," he said cheerfully.
"Weren't you afraid?" journalists asked.
"No, I felt the thrill of it."
Anastasia Savinykh