Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cyrano 
| And Putin just happened to be carrying a tranquilizer gun? And the trank hit the tiger so fast he dropped in his tracks? Please.
First, the range on a trank gun is very short. Second, it takes at least a minute or two for the drug to affect the animal. Contrary to what people are conditioned to by heavily edited wildlife shows on TV and the use of a scout-scoped tranquilizer gun on Buffy the Vampire Slayer to control Oz when he was in werewolf form, it is not a case of shoot-and-drop.
Why do I think this whole thing was a setup? Either that, or Putin was luckier than he had any right to be. |
Actually, from the video, I wouldn't be surprised if Putin wanted to carry the gun. After his experience with the KGB, he's likely a good shot.
In addition, I think they were inflating the immediate danger. If you look at the video, the tiger was moving off, parallel to the crew, maybe 30 feet off. Likely Putin shot it as it was moving, most tranqed animals move away from the direction of the shot, due to the pain the dart produces. They wander a bit, get woozy, then lay down and nod off.
It wouldn't surprise me if he asked (or ordered) them to let him do it as the animal started to move off. Image-conscious man that he is. I don't believe it was a roar, leap, and shoot situation, but I am inclined to believe they let him take the shot that put it out.
- Coeloptera