MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented the Pyongyang Central Zoo with over 70 different animals, including a lion, two brown bears, two yaks and several species of birds, the Russian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry reported.

"Russian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov (co-chairman of the Russia-North Korea intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation - TASS) has ordered over 70 animals to be transferred from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Central Zoo. This is Vladimir Putin's gift to the Korean people. <...> One African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of various species, and 40 mandarin ducks will now live in the North Korean zoo," the ministry said in a press release.

In addition, Kozlov pointed out that Moscow is sending a special cohort of mammals to Pyongyang for the first time ever: a lioness, bears and yaks. "Now the animals are being quarantined and will be moved to enclosures after the acclimatization period. I am sure the animals and birds will live in suitable conditions. I am confident that these animals will receive proper care and will adapt quickly to their new environment," the press release quoted him as saying.

The Pyongyang Central Zoo has been operating since 1959. It houses animals common in North Korea as well as exotic ones, such as elephants, hippos and giraffes. According to the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the transfer of the animals to Pyongyang was made possible after the zoo joined the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums.