Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits Olga Bay at the Kamchatka Peninsula to take part in a whale research
After arriving at Olga Bay at the Kronotsky nature reserve, Vladimir Putin put on a special wetsuit and went with the reserve's specialists to search for whales in a motorboat. The specialists suggested that the prime minister take part in identifying the whales' population. To do this, the Prime Minister had to shoot a dart from a crossbow to take a sample of a whale's skin.
According to Vladimir Burkanov, a marine mammals specialist from the Pacific Oceanography Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Far Eastern department, who accompanied Vladimir Putin, it took them half an hour to find a pod of whales which they identified by their water spouts. The waves shook the boat, Burkanov said, but the prime minister managed to hit the whale and take a sample of its skin.
When the Prime Minister was back on shore, he shared his emotions with newsmen:
Question: Mr Putin, how do you feel after spending over two hours out there, in the cold and rain? Did you see a whale?
Vladimir Putin: Yes we did, and not just one. We saw a lot of them.
Question: What are your impressions?
Vladimir Putin: It certainly is extreme, but it's also very interesting, and beautiful. I think they were playing with us, zooming up close to us and leaping. There were lots of them.
Question: Did you see them right away when they were still far?
Vladimir Putin: Professionals spot them by watching for their spout.
Vladimir Burkanov: In the morning we looked for where they feed, then we headed out to that location and found a group of five or six whales.
Vladimir Putin: We tried to work with three or four whales, but only got one.
Question: Mr Putin, did you manage to do a biopsy?
Vladimir Putin: Yes we did.
Question: Did you shoot it yourself?
Vladimir Putin: But of course. That's what I was there for.
Question: What do you mean when you said they played with you?
Vladimir Putin: They jumped up high up in front of our boat.
Question: But not at you?
Vladimir Putin: No.
Question: Weren't you afraid?
Vladimir Putin: No.
Question: What did you feel then?
Vladimir Putin: The thrill of it.
Question: Did you hit your target first time?
Vladimir Putin: No. I missed three times and only hit it the fourth time. Here is the biopsy.
Vladimir Burkanov: The biopsy is a sample of skin removed from a living whale that will help us determine, with 80% accuracy, where this whale came from and to which group it belongs.
Vladimir Putin: I have just been given a detailed lecture: Korean whales, which were wiped out in the 19th century, have reappeared off Sakhalin's shores. Biologists want to determine whether the Korean whale population is recovering from that 19th century extermination, or whether they are the Chukotka-California grey whales, which breed in California and migrate to Sakhalin's waters for dinner.
Question: Will the government be taking any decisions on whales in the near future? Or on eco-tourism?
Vladimir Putin: Just now we've been talking about what we can do to help scientists. This is a separate issue, and we will continue this discussion. Eco-tourism is certainly also a major government issue. You will be aware that it is something I have already talked about. We are currently establishing special tourist zones, but that is not enough. Travellers need help in getting to wonderful places like this one. I am confident that such trips will be in demand. I know there are a lot of people who would like to give it a go.
Question: Will the government allocate funds to get all that up and running?
Vladimir Putin: We have just said that these include priority objectives, and we will certainly accomplish them.
Question: Mr Putin, when you say travellers need help getting here, do you mean that Kamchatka is so remote that people can only get here by plane?
Vladimir Putin: Yes indeed.
Question: What decisions are you going to make and how soon?
Vladimir Putin: It is difficult to say now. We need to take the first steps, at least by seeing some real progress in the development of those special tourist zones. As for the accessibility issue, we just need to help travel agencies do their job.
Question: Was this your first time using a crossbow?
Vladimir Putin: Yes it was.
Question: You must be soaked? Won't you catch a cold?
Vladimir Putin: A little. This jacket is waterproof, but my boot is leaky. The boat rises and falls, up and down. And the whale keeps moving.
Question: When is the right time to shoot? When it rises?
Vladimir Putin: Yes. My team taught me how it's done. Unfortunately I didn't hit it right away. But thankfully I hit the target eventually.
Question: You have seven arrows left, don't you?
Vladimir Putin: Any arrows that miss their target float. We collected them afterwards.
Question: Will you come here again, to see the whales?
Vladimir Putin: I'd love to.
Question: Did you prefer working with white whales, grey whales or killer whales? Or do you still prefer bears?
Vladimir Putin: They're all different. This was real research work. With the bear, we only caught it and fitted a collar on it... You meant the polar bear?
Question: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Bears are very interesting animals, too. Very interesting.
Question: Perhaps this experience reminded you of some real life situation?
Vladimir Putin: A real life situation? But this is real life. It gave me something to remember.
Question: Did you have to spend long searching for the whales?
Vladimir Putin: No, we found them easily. The biologists spotted them earlier in the morning, a herd. We got over to them quite quickly.
Question: How quickly? Thirty minutes? An hour?
Vladimir Putin: We covered the distance in thirty minutes and then spent some time working there.
Question: In general, how did they react to the shots? Especially the one that you hit.
Vladimir Putin: They don't make any audible sounds. We hit one, it dived and swam off. We went over to where it had been, collected the sample and moved on.
Question: Weren't you afraid when you first saw a whale? They're so huge!
Question: Did it wave its tail?
Vladimir Putin: No it didn't. But they did jump, and that was impressive.
Vladimir Putin: It leapt right out of the water! All 30 tonnes of it!
Question: It was fifteen metres, wasn't it?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, fifteen metres.
Question: I can't believe you weren't scared.
Vladimir Putin: I wasn't.
Question: But you had a sense of danger?
Vladimir Putin: I didn't. I was thrilled.
Question: Did you like them? Do you find them beautiful?
Vladimir Putin: I liked it a great deal, they are very beautiful.
Question: Why didn't you stay longer and take more shots?
Vladimir Putin: It was time to go; I had to hurry back to you, I was worried that you were getting cold.
Question: Will you be interested in the result of the tests?
Vladimir Burkanov: We need to collect 20-30 samples to be able to tell whether this is a local or a widespread population. 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 in Olga Harbor. This is only the beginning of a major research project.
Question: Mr Putin, why do you need to go on adventures like this?
Vladimir Putin: I like it. I love Russian nature. I have great respect for what scientists do. Their work is important and useful. It interests me a great deal.
Question: But you must understand that it's dangerous.
Vladimir Putin: Life itself is dangerous.
Question: Would you suggest other politicians try it? Who?
Vladimir Putin: No one. No one should try it.
Question: Are you afraid of competition, or do you think they couldn't do it?
Vladimir Putin: I am not afraid. Why should I be? Everyone has their own hobbies. Everyone should do what they enjoy.
Thank you very much.
