Larisa Kaftan
Now the tiger cub is still very young but later on she will move to a zoo
On Thursday, journalists from the Prime Minister's pool were told they would see something special at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence: Vladimir Putin was going to share "a pleasant surprise" with them, one that was "not related to economy." No one knew what to expect, and there was a lot of guesswork about it. The most popular version was that Labrador Retriever Connie had birthed a litter of puppies. Members of the Prime Minister's circle cut it short, however, saying, "You've almost got it, but you haven't guessed right yet."
Mr Putin immersed himself completely in work (he was preoccupied with an anti-crisis plan), and did not arrive at home earlier than at 1 a.m.
"I didn't expect to see so many of you here," the Prime Minister said, glancing at the mass of video cameras. "It is going to be a personal event, not an official one," Mr Putin said, adding to our intrigue. He led us to a closed door, warning, "Please do not make any noise, cry, or, more importantly, scream."
Then he looked strictly at photo correspondents, and said, "No flash photography!" He opened the door wide, and we saw a basket in the corner with a tiger cub looking out.
"She's a Siberian Tiger cub," Mr Putin said. "She's a two and a half month old female. We are addressing the problem of Siberian Tigers," he reminded us (a month ago the Prime Minister launched a program for Siberian Tigers protection in Primorye's taiga).
The tiger cub seemed to feel comfortable in her basket, and examined the crowd with interest.
"Is her mother all right?" we asked Mr Putin.
"Yes, quite all right."
"Is she a birthday present?" (Vladimir Putin celebrated his birthday on October 7.)
The Prime Minister nodded.
"Who gave her to you?"
"It's a secret. Anyway, it makes no difference. The main thing is that the tiger cub will be living in good conditions. She will later move to a zoo, and we will visit her in the future."
Mr Putin patted the tiger cub on her neck and ears. We have never seen the Prime Minister express such warm feelings, even toward his favorite Labrador Retriever, Connie. The tiger cub seemed to have fascinated the Prime Minister.
"She's like a child," someone said.
"Indeed, she's a child," Mr Putin confirmed.
"Do you take her in your arms?" I asked.
"Would you like to have a try yourself?" Mr Putin suggested.
I reached out, but the vet warned, "You shouldn't do it," and she showed me her arms, all covered with small scratches and plaster.
"Have you introduced her to Connie?" we asked Mr Putin.
"No. She might be dangerous," he laughed.
"Have you given her a name?" I asked.
"No, I haven't. Would you give your suggestions?"
The vet said, "Yesterday a lot of names were proposed. Almost all of them sounded exotic, for example, Angie, but I liked Sweetie most of all."
"I would call her Murka," I said.
Mr Putin laughed and repeated, "Murka...". He then told us that the tiger cub weighs ten kilos, has two kilos of meat for breakfast and supper, and when she grows up, will weigh 250 kilos.
"You've been given a dog, a tiger. And the next present will be an elephant, I suppose?" I mused.
"We do not address elephants' problems. There are no elephants in Russia. But we have tigers," Mr Putin explained and touched the striped toddler.
"Does she have teeth?" I asked.
"Yeah, they are this big," Mr Putin answered, measuring out three centimeters with his fingers.
The tiger cub posed with pleasure, stretching his paws in a cat-like manner.
"Surprisingly, she's very calm now," the vet smiled. "She hissed before you came."
As if she had understood the vet's words, the tiger cub hissed, showing her fangs to a cameraman who had crawled too closely to her and dazzled her with a camera flash.
"It's time we have to leave," Mr Putin said, interrupting the photo session.
Patting the tiger once more, he closed the door.
"I'm sure you'll be sad to part with her," we said sympathetically.
"Yes, I'll be sad to see her go," he confirmed.
The tiger cub's father recovers its sight
Komsomolskaya Pravda has found out that the parents of Mr Putin's nameless tiger cub live in a zoo. The cub has no name yet, but she has a patronymic name already: Her father is Homer, a beast with an unhappy fate. He was brought to the zoo almost blind, with cataracts, skinny and half-alive. Vets were able to nurse him back to health, performed an operation, and Homer recovered his sight. He is now absolutely healthy.
We were told that "the parents kindly agreed to give their young to a reliable owner."
