ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

ONE-ON-ONE WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN (OUTDOORLIFE, 2011)

Before turning to tigers and bears, I decided to post parts of an interview with Vladimir Putin in OutdoorLife. The reason is Putin is one of the very few important political figures really involved in conservation. In 2009, the oldest non-governmental organisation in Russia, the Russian Geographical Society, suggested Putin should head its Tutorial Council. The RGS is currently responsible for implementing several programs. Putin personally is supervising one of them. He also headed the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit. More than enough reasons to post parts of the interview. 

As the interview, published in 2011, is a long one, I selected parts of it. I decided against scanning the interview. Instead, I selected a number of questions and answers. As I intend to keep it readable, I decided to shorten the questions. The answers, also shortened, are quotes only. The article was written by Gayne C. Young. 


1 - AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR LIFE DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN THE OUTDOORS?

" ... My fondness for the outdoors, ..., has its roots in my youth and, particularly, in the books I've read. I've always loved and avidly read the novels of Jack London, Jules Verne and Ernest Hemingway. The characters depicted in their books, ..., definitely shaped my inner self and nourished my love for the outdoors ... ".

" ... I had an interesting childhood strongly connected with sports. I also had very good teachers. I increasingly appreciate what I have achieved because of sports. In other words, a habit for a healthy lifestyle and an opportunity to be outdoors ... ".

" ... I would also like to add that recently my passion for adventures, journeys and outdoor activities has got a new dimension.  In 2009, ...,  the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), suggested I should head its Tutorial Council, and, of course, I agreed. The very mission of the RGS reaches out to my heart, namely to inspire people to inspire to love Russia. This phrase contains a desire to open up Russia's beauthy, diversity and identity to our society and to the whole world, to present its authentic image ... ".


2 - DO YOU THINK THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE ARE MORE OPEN-MINDED ABOUT SPORTS SUCH AS HUNTING AND FISHING, OR HAVE AMERICANS JUST BECOME HYPERSENSITIVE?

" ... I do not think it would be right to ascribe certain characteristics to representatives of one or another ethnic group ... ".

" ... It is certainly very important, particularly for the Head of State, to carry oneself in such a way as not to offend or humiliate people's feelings, in word or deed; ... ".

" ... We need to identify and maintain essential, basic things ... ".

" ... I come out strongly against uncontrolled mass killing of animals and irresponsible fishing ... ".


3 - YOU RECENTLY MET WITH OTHER GLOBAL LEADERS FOR A 'TIGER SUMMIT', WHERE YOU PLEDGED TO DOUBLE THE TIGER POPULATION IN ASIA. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT HURDLE IN ACHIEVING THIS GOAL?

" ... Most difficult hurdles indeed exist - in those countries, for instance, where the tiger habitat is shrinking due to the intensification of economic activity... It is not always an easy task to decide what is more important ...  Tigers ..., as well as all the wild animals, recognize no boundaries, and our Amur tigers move freely in the territory of China and enter the Korean peninsula. You should agree that in such a context, no measures taken in an individual country to protect them will be efficient ... ".

" ... This is why I consider the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit and its resulting documents a real breakthrough in international conservation. This was the first time in history that the conservation of a certain animal species was discussed on such a large scale and high level ... ".

" ... Under the adopted Global Program, the Tiger Range States made the commitment to ensure safe and comfortable existence of these animals. Thus, the predators' habitats will be under special control. The economic activity will be either severely restricted there or fully prohibited. This will allow us not only to preserve the forests and hundreds of other animals, but also to maintain the traditional way of life of local indigenous peoples ... ".

" ... I would like to add that the decisions adopted at the forum are fully consistent with the approved Russian plans to preserve tigers. Moreover, they are based on Russian methods that have been developed since the 1940s by our scientists. The first-ever prohibitions on tiger hunting and tiger cub trapping and the first State programs on protecting tigers were initiated by our country. Therefore, the unique sustainable population of tigers living in Russia number some 450 individuals. Considering the biological habitat capacity, ..., this number is optimal., though globally, in terms of species, it is not enough, which why we will further extend the strictly protected areas, and take measures to increase the number of hoofed animals required for the survival of tigers. IN recent years, the Amur tigers began to return ...  to their historical habitats, for example the Amur oblast. We will do our best to make them comfortable there. We are currently responsable for several programs; I am personally supervising one of them, which is being implemented by the RGS ... ".


4 - SOME QUOTES

On 'new' and 'old' things (outdoorswise): " ... Perhaps I would phrase the question this way: What 'new things' does Russia have to offer in the future? Let us try to cover some of the 'old things' first ... ". And " ..., learn its true character ... ".

On the meaning of hunting: " ... I will tell you at once that I am not a hunter ... ".

On the concept of 'outdoors':  " ...  It seems to me that we have a slightly different understanding of the outdoors concept. For me, it is primarily about sports, and health and breaking bad habits. For you, it has to do with fishing, hunting and traveling. And the best proof of this is the writers you enjoy reading. Illustrious Jim Corbett, who shot man-eating tigers in India; or Peter Hathaway Capstick, a professional hunter and, I suppose, the most famous hunter biographer; or Robert Ruark, who focused most of his stories on African safaris. I would not be wrong, I believe, if I were to say that we have rather different views even on Hemingway. It seems to me that the book you enjoy most is Green Hills of Africa. As for me, it is A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea ... ".

On hunting in Russia:  " ... His well-known A Sportsman Sketches (reffering to Ivan Turgenev) has been a favorite book of Russian hunting fans for more than a century, which reflect in general the philosophy of hunting in Russia, where the mere process, the fact that you are close to nature and communicate with people, matters - not the outcome ... ".

On what a hunter is:  " ... I do not want to offend your feelings as a hunter, but, by its intensity, its dynamics, that (Putin was referring to an event in 2010, when he helped scientists to obtain skin samples from a whale off Russia's Pacific Coast by darting one with a crossbow) wa sa real hunt. But without killing the animal. And this was a special pleasure. This is not a melodramatic statement. That was the way it really was ... ". Reply