(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has tracked a Siberian tiger and posed with a polar bear, on Wednesday (September 5) took his love of wildlife to new heights by flying with cranes - to lead them on a migration route.<br/> <br />Putin has communed with wild animals several times as part of an effort to create the image of a clean-living, nature-loving person during his 12 years as Russia's paramount leader.<br/> <br />This time around, he donned a baggy white costume with a spacious helmet and goggles and flew in a motorised deltaplane light aircraft surrounded by several young cranes that were born in captivity, in order to help introduce them to the wild.<br/> <br />The exercise in the Yamal peninsula was aimed at prompting the birds to follow the plane and hence prepare them for their migration route - part of the "Flight of Hope" project to protect the endangered, white Siberian Crane.<br/> <br />Visibly pleased, Putin said it had been his idea to fly the deltaplane, although it appeared to be steered most of the time by another person in a similar white costume sitting behind him.
