Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been hailed a hero after he 'saved' a television crew from attack by a rare Siberian tiger, shooting the animal with a tranquiliser gun.

Mr Putin was visiting the Ussuri Reserve in far eastern Russia to see how scientists are tracking the critically endgangered tigers when one of the animals approached.

VIDEO: Tranquiliser gun-toting Putin feted as hero

"We probably came too close to her," said Violetta Sergeyeva, a film director from Rossiya television. "She suddenly got loose and rushed to us. A miracle saved us."

Clad in camouflage and desert boots, the 55-year-old former KGB spy was later filmed helping researchers measure his feline foe's huge teeth, before fitting her with a satellite transmitter collar.

The Siberian, or Amur tiger, is the world's largest wild cat. It can weigh up to 450kg (1,000lb) and measure up to three metres from nose to the tip of the tail.

Macho image

It has recently bounced back from the brink of extinction, hitting its highest population level for at least 100 years, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Mr Putin, recently at odds with the West over Russia's deadly dispute with its neighbour Georgia, thanked Western scientists for their help in tiger conservation programs.

"First of all, we must thank our colleagues, Americans, European colleagues for being involved with this together with our scientists during a difficult time for Russia when no-one was paying any attention to this," he said.

Ex-President Mr Putin is known for his macho image - last year he was featured in magazines across the world after he stripped to the waist while fishing on the Yenisei river.

He has also been snapped skiing, riding horses, throwing judo opponents, flying fighter planes and commanding a nuclear submarine.