Russian leader gifts over 70 animals to North Korea's Pyongyang Zoo

The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted over 70 animals to the Pyongyang Zoo, including a lion, two brown bears, two yaks, and various bird species.

“All these animals were transported from the Moscow Zoo on a special flight,” the ministry said, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

“Russia's Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology and co-chair of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea Alexander Kozlov has delivered more than 70 animals from the Moscow Zoo to the Central Zoo in Pyongyang. This gift from President Putin to the Korean people includes an African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, twenty-five pheasants of various species, and forty mandarin ducks. The minister also highlighted that this is the first time Moscow has gifted mammals to Pyongyang, including a lioness, bears, and yaks," the ministry noted. 

"Currently, all the animals are in quarantine; they will be moved to their enclosures once their acclimatization process is complete. I am confident that the animals and birds will receive excellent care. They will not fall ill and will quickly adapt to their new environment," Kozlov added. 

The Central Zoo of Pyongyang has been in operation since 1959. It is home to both species native to Korea and exotic animals, such as elephants, hippos, and giraffes. The transfer of animals from Russia became possible due to the inclusion of the Pyongyang Zoo in the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the ministry said.

By Naila Huseynova