Wednesday, March 23, 2011

All you need is a good press agent

Amazing headline from Reuters: "PUTIN FROLICS WITH SNOW LEOPARD"

Here's the lede:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin frolicked with the real-life mascot of the 2014 Winter Olympics over the weekend, an endangered snow leopard that had been injured in the valleys of central Siberia.

The cat is called "Mongol" by local scientists who rescued it after a harrowing ordeal at the hands of poachers.

Putin broke a business trip to Russia's Far East to visit it in the Khakassia region some 3,500 km (2,000 miles) east of Moscow.


Ummm, OK, so Vlade is a judo black belt, I guess he is well equipped to frolic with a full grown wild animal with a full set of teeth and claws. Maybe he will ride it? or carry it on his shoulders? or just snuggle with it?

Now here's a link to the video showing what passes for frolicking when you are the dictator of Russia and the international press LOVES you.

Apparently frolic actually means to pose crouching for the cameras 10 feet away from the perimeter of the cage holding the snow leopard!

Plenty of other memorable Putin moments in the video as well!!

1 comment:

Richard Stands said...

Looks like he didn't need judo for the tranqed polar bear either. Or perhaps he had just flung it to the ground before they rolled tape and it was dazed.