Russian President Vladmir Putin, who is known to be fond of wildlife, visited the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday, and stroked a Persian leopard cub at the leopard breeding and rehabilitation centre in the National Park.
Putin drove Jean Claude Killy, former French Olympian and International Olympic Committee (IOC) official, and IOC Executive Director Gilbert Felli and gave them a tour of the nature reserve near Sochi ahead of the Winter Games.
He sought to calm an agitated leopard cub that attacked two journalists, Russian media said.
Putin is well known for his encounters with wild animals, which have helped burnish his outdoors image.
In the past, he has been shown on state TV tagging whales, saving a TV crew from a tiger and taking to the skies to fly with Siberian cranes.
RIA Novosti news agency said the Russian president cuddling the leopard. seemingly at ease.
Russia is working to re-introduce the Persian leopard to southern Russia where they became extinct in 1970.
