[Peace-discuss] Hey! Our guys could do that...

[C. G. Estabrook]

[...if, instead of a tiger, it was a naked and bound Iraqi, an Afghan bride, or 
(for the old-timers) civilians in a light-bulb factory in Hanoi... --CGE]


	09/01/2008 11:24 AM
	RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE
	Putin Saves TV Crew From Escaped Tiger

Russians are lauding Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after he reportedly saved 
scientists and a film crew from a huge escaped tiger in the Russian Far East. 
The tiger was no match for the judo champion and former KGB agent with a 
tranquilizer rifle.

In an act of bravery that could (almost) be made for TV, Russian Prime Minister 
Vladimir Putin saved a Russian film crew from an enormous escaped tiger in 
eastern Russia Sunday, adding yet another set of images to his cultivated 
portfolio of manliness.

The incident took place in a national park in Russia's Far East, where Putin was 
visiting a team of scientists involved in a conservation project to save the 
endangered Amur tiger, the world's largest cat, which can reach lengths of 10 
feet (three meters) from head to tail.

"We probably came too close to her," said Violetta Sergeyeva, a film director 
from Rossiya, Russia's main television station. "She suddenly got loose and 
rushed us. A miracle saved us."

That miracle happened to be Putin, who -- clad in camouflage fatigues and desert 
combat boots -- availed himself of a tranquilizer rifle and found his mark. 
After sedating the beast, Putin went on to assist the scientists as they 
measured the tiger's enormous canine fangs and fitted a satellite transmitter 
around its neck.

Once done with his Herculean labor, Putin spoke to the film crew about the 
conservation efforts: "First of all, we must thank our colleagues -- Americans, 
European colleagues -- for being involved with this together with our scientists 
during a difficult time for Russia, when no one was paying attention to this."

The Amur tiger, which is native to the region surrounding the Ussuri River, has 
recently reached its highest population level after approaching extinction in 
the 1940s, according to the environmental group the WWF.

Almost exactly a year ago, another series of photographs from eastern Russia 
flooded the media, after then President Putin was captured bearing his muscular 
torsowhile fishing and riding horses on vacation in Siberia. In photographs 
released exclusively to the Russian media, Putin was also seen brandishing a rifle.

jtw -- with wire reports


URL:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,575548,00.html