Vladimir Putin uses trained birds of prey to take down drones sent by spies or ISIS and guard his Kremlin HQ

FALCON CRAZY 

Falcons have been taught to swoop on rogue unmanned aircraft over Russia's seat of government in Moscow

By Patrick Knox

31st January 2018, 11:10 am

Updated: 31st January 2018, 1:17 pm

RUSSIAN strongman leader Vladimir Putin has specially trained birds of prey guarding his Kremlin HQ from drones, it's been revealed.

The fortified seat of government in Moscow has long used birds of prey to chase away pesky crows.

A Russian soldier from the Presidential regiment holds his falcon at the Cathedral Square outside the Moscow's Kremlin

But now falcons have been trained to take out drones amid fears spies could use them - or worse ISIS use them as a weapon.  

It is understood the raptor birds are better able to target small drones than hawks.

Continued  

Putin's crane is found after losing its way

MOSCOW (AP) — One of the Siberian cranes that Russian President Vladimir Putin helped teach to fly south last year lost its flock along the way, but has been found and brought to Moscow.

In September 2012, Putin flew on a motorized hang glider as part of a project to teach the endangered birds who were raised in captivity to later follow the aircraft on their migration south to Central Asia.

One of the cranes was recently spotted in the Tyumen region of Siberia and identified by a tag on its right leg as belonging to "Putin's flock."

The crane was flown by airplane to Moscow, where its arrival Friday was covered by state television. The white bird, called Raven, will spend the winter in a wildlife reserve.

http://news.yahoo.com/putins-crane-found-losing-way-143213443.html

Russia denies bird flight injured Putin

MOSCOW (AP) — Did Vladimir Putin's flight with a flock of cranes end up grounding him? The Russian president's spokesman says no.

In recent weeks, Putin has rarely left his official residence, sparking speculation that illness or injury had laid him low.

Yesterday, the respected newspaper Vedomosti cited unnamed Kremlin-connected sources saying Putin's September flight in a motorized hang glider accompany migrating cranes had aggravated an old injury. But his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin had an old injury, but it was not connected to the highly publicized flight.

Peskov was quoted as saying Putin was making only infrequent trips to the Kremlin because he didn't want his motorcade to disrupt Moscow's notoriously bad traffic. The presidential motorcade forces the shutdown of large stretches of highway, an inconvenience that many irritated drivers mark by blaring their horns angrily as the president's car races past.

Putin also has put off several expected trips abroad, including to India, Turkey and Bulgaria. The Interfax news agency cited Peskov as saying there was no single reason behind those changes.

The hang-glider flight with the cranes, which took place in September just before an international summit in Vladivostok, was one of Putin's trademark adventurous media events. The 60-year-old Russian leader has assiduously cultivated an image of vigor and daring, including being shown swimming in a Siberian river and petting a tranquilized polar bear in the Arctic.

Putin also is a skier and a judo aficionado.

"Indeed, he pulled a muscle. It happened before Vladivostok. He was suffering from some muscle pain then," Peskov said.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/nov/02/russia-denies-bird-flight-injured-putin/

Coming Home To Roost: Putin's Cranes Don't Take To The Wild

Remember when Russian President Vladimir Putin donned a white jumpsuit and flew an ultralight aircraft to lead a small group of endangered cranes on their southward migration?

Early last month, the president took off from the Yamalo-Nenetsk Autonomous Region to show the orphaned chicks the route south. His stunt was widely covered -- and ridiculed -- both in Russia and abroad.

Almost immediately, though, there were reports that two of the rare birds had died during the preparations for Putin's flight. "Many" others were reportedly injured.

After Putin returned to Moscow, the plan was for researchers to lead them to Tyumen Oblast, where they would meet up with a flock of wild cranes and join them on their flight to their wintering ground in Central Asia.

If all went well, it would mean a significant boost for the rare species, as Russian scientists estimate there are fewer than two dozen of the birds in the wild.

But Russia's State Nature Inspectorate reported on October 10 that six of the seven cranes that made it to Tyumen Oblast failed to bond with their wild cousins. Who knows? Maybe they were acting all stuck up because they got to meet the president.

Whatever the reason, the wild birds took off without them. The young orphans and their handlers had to take a plane back to the nature reserve where they were born in Ryazan Oblast, about 200 kilometers away from Moscow. They'll spend the winter there. Maybe the president can visit them.

Continued:  http://www.rferl.org/content/coming-home-to-roost-putins-cranes/24735497.html