Putin to fly with pack of rare Siberian cranes to see them off for winter

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Russia's Yamal, Western Siberia, before the APEC summit, where he will try on a very unusual role for himself. Putin will become the leader of a pack of Siberian white cranes. The birds, listed on the Red Book, were raised in captivity.

Since mid-August, the rare cranes, accompanied by hang gliders, fly in the area above the village of Kushevat. According to Rosbalt, in mid-September, a pilot will guide the birds to Central Asia so that they could spend winter there. The birds and the pilot will fly along the route calculated by scientists. The glider will play the role of the pack leader, who shows flight direction to the birds.

Yuri Markin, the director of the State Biosphere Oksky Reserve, where the cranes are grown, said  that Putin could take part in the flight, Fontanka.ru said.

A lot depends on the weather, pilot Dmitry Volgin, a participant of the "Flight of Hope" said, according to Vedomosti. "They discussed different options for Putin's participation. All of them are technically difficult, so we do not know yet, what may come out of this," he said.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the president learns to fly a hang glider. The official also confirmed the rumors saying that the President would visit Yamal before the APEC summit. However, Peskov declined further comments.