Vladimir Putin managed to combine his macho image with a environmental message yesterday, when he helped Russian scientists put an electronic tag on a 231kg polar bear.

"The polar bear is in danger. There are only 25,000 individuals left in the world," the Russian Prime Minister told reporters. "Receding ice caps, the melting of ice in this region of the world – all this adds to complications for the bears' habitat."

After being briefed by the leader of a Russian Geographical Society expedition on the dangers faced by the species, he went outside to be photographed, helping the scientists weigh, tag and shake the paw of the sedated polar bear.

"The paw shake was strong," the smiling 57-year-old premier said, decked out in a red polar jacket and a cap bearing Russia's national symbol, the two-headed eagle. "It is clear he is the real Lord of the Arctic."

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