The Times: “Vladimir Putin saves the Arctic polar bear in latest animal adventure”
He has put a tiger to sleep, ridden bare-chested on horseback and even saved baby seals from being clubbed to death. Yesterday it was the turn of polar bears to feature in Vladimir Putin's latest animal adventure.
The action-man Prime Minister was filmed attaching a tracking device to a sedated polar bear and helping scientists to measure and weigh the animal during a visit to Franz Josef Land in Russia's Arctic far north.
Wearing a monogrammed red winter jacket, Mr Putin stroked the 230 kilogram (507 lb) bear and shook its paw, saying "be healthy", while a commentator for state television told viewers that it could "wake up at any moment".
Mr Putin, who asserted Russia's "profound interests" in the region during his visit, declared to the camera: "The bear is the master of the Arctic."
His trip to the archipelago took place on an unspecified date but details were released yesterday through the state media. It came a day after President Medvedev reached agreement on Russia's Arctic border with Norway, ending a 40-year dispute.
Russia and other Arctic nations are jostling over rights to vast untapped energy reserves. Mr Putin expressed fears for the future of the polar bear, however, saying that only 25,000 remained.
"The polar bear is under threat. The reduction in the surface of the ice sheet, the melting of the ice, all this adds complications to the living conditions," he said. Mr Putin also demanded a clean-up of waste dumped in the Arctic by the military and Soviet scientific expeditions.
A quarter of a million barrels containing up to 60,000 tons of fuel and lubricants, as well as abandoned machinery and buildings, are scattered around the archipelago of almost 200 islands. Mr Putin said: "The region turned into a garbage dump after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The level of pollution exceeds the norm by six times."
He also visited a border post manned by the Federal Security Service (FSB), telling reporters: "We must not forget that Russia has the deepest interests linked to the Arctic. It is here that the defence capabilities and security of Russia are ensured."
The Russian media regularly shows Mr Putin, 57, engaging in adventures that project a macho image of a strong but caring ruler. He shot a Siberian tiger with a tranquilliser gun in 2008, allegedly saving a television crew from attack after the animal escaped from a trap as he was arriving.
He dived to the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake, in a mini submarine, then showed off his pecs appeal by riding shirtless on horseback during a camping trip to the Siberian region of Tuva.
He won praise from environmental groups last year after calling a halt to the annual spring cull of baby seals in Russia's northern White Sea region.
Tony Halpin in Moscow
