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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits Losiny Ostrov National Park in north-east Moscow ahead of Environmentalist’s Day and World Environment Day

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was accompanied on the visit by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Yury Trutnev. Upon arrival, the prime minister toured the moose biological research centre, where he fed some brown bread and a carrot to moose cow Lusha.

"Would you like an ice cream?" the Prime Minister asked.

"We haven't tried feeding her that," Olga Fateyeva, a technician at the research centre, said.

The park's director, Fyodor Voronin, told the prime minister that an adult moose mainly eats willow and aspen twigs. "During the first four months of life, moose are fed on milk, with vegetables, such as carrots and marrows, added later," he said.

Staff at the research centre treat injured and weak animals so they can be released into the wild once they have recovered. Prime Minister Putin visited an enclosure housing one-month-old moose calves, which are currently being raised by staff at the centre. They were brought here in early May after they lost their mother.

The prime minister was given the opportunity to feed some special milk to them.

Feeding a moose calf, Mr Putin said, "You won't stop until you wolf it down, will you? Okay, okay, no biting or slurping. Good moose calves don't slurp."

The prime minister talked with students of Moscow school No. 1409, who were also visiting the park. One of the girls, Dasha Yepifanova, told the prime minister that she is doing research on tigers, whose protection is something he is particularly concerned about.

Then the prime minister and school students planted out trees together. They gave Mr Putin several presents, including a souvenir with the coat of arms of the Northern Administrative District on it, a baseball cap bearing the inscription "Young Environmentalist" and a toy moose. Minister Trutnev gave the prime minister an honorary environmentalist's badge.

At the end of the meeting, one of the school students asked the prime minister to make the government toughen environmental regulations. He suggested imposing heavy fines for littering and tougher supervision over forest clearing. "Cutting down the trees deprives the birds of their habitat," the boy said.

Mr Putin said he fully agrees with the boy, adding that "Russia's nature is a gift from God. It's a miracle, and this is no exaggeration. We can see this miracle every day, and it needs our protection."

Mr Putin asked the young environmental activist to submit his proposals to the government.

"We'll certainly consider them, at least at the Ministry of Natural Resources, or even at a higher level," he promised.

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Losiny Ostrov (Moose Island) National Park is a specially protected natural territory in north-east Moscow. It covers an area of 128 square kilometres. Losiny Ostrov is the only Moscow park where large animals live in the wild. There are currently several environmental programmes and research projects underway here.