Barack Obama tests his survival skills with Bear Grylls

PRESIDENT Barack Obama, who was spending three days in Alaska promoting action for climate change, announced through the NBC television channel and the White House that he would tape an episode of ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls’.

He was due to trek through the wilderness on Tuesday September 1 with survival expert Grylls, in the special edition of the show, which will be broadcast later this year.

Obama was to meet with the host of the programme in Alaska to consider the effects of climate change on the 49th state, nicknamed ‘The Last Frontier,’ and explore the Alaskan wilderness while testing his survival skills.

His short visit also included a hike on a melting glacier near the town of Seward and a visit with a fisherman in the remote coastal village of Dillingham.

It is certainly a very brave decision by the President but it is guaranteed to ensure that he will receive a great deal of media coverage for his trip.

Other celebrities have been pushed to their limits by Bear Grylls but with the media circus that follows Mr Obama together with the agents protecting him against threats of attack, he should at least not feel too isolated.