Izvestiya: “Elk need money, too”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Losiny Ostrov National Park on Ecologist Day. While there, he fed elk carrots and found out about the financial difficulties that the reserve, one of the oldest in Russia, was going through.
Losiny Ostrov is a unique place. In the nineteenth century, this forest was divided into parts and the first forestry service was founded there. But now the future of the national park is in danger. The government of Moscow, which had been in charge of maintaining the reserve since 2006, has stopped funding it. Therefore, Losiny Ostrov's budget decreased five-fold. But the number of animals, which need care and protection from poachers, increased.
Minister of Natural Resources Yury Trutnev and Park Director Fedor Voronin told the prime minister about these problems, trying to outdo each other. After this gloomy conversation, they walked over to the animals. The elk Lusha reached out to Putin to get an extra portion of carrot and black bread as the animals are fed strictly on schedule at the park. The young animals are fed exactly on time: in the morning - fresh twigs and vegetables, for lunch - always milk., often goat's milk, but sometimes cow's milk.
Engineer Olga Fateyeva read a brief course for a young ecologist-fighter as she walked:
"All the elk are different - affectionate, embittered or restive. They have different characters. Young elk begin to recognize those who feed them, consider them almost as mothers and even know the feeding time. Even after they have grown up, elk don't forget the people who had fed them. We set one-year-olds free, but they often come back to the biological station before the second year."
The calves Luchik, Rona and Rada, which were born only a month ago, were unlucky as their mother was killed by poachers. Putin came to them in time for their second meal. One of the calves spotted a pacifier and immediately hopped up to the prime minister.
"How funny he is!" - said Putin as he began to feed the animal.
The rest of the elk were busy with the young ecologists, who were students of school No. 1409. It was not something unusual for them to feed the animals.
"Won't stop until everything is gone?"- asked Putin trying to teach the elk good manners.
"Don't bite and don't eat so noisily. Who munches so loudly?"
When the bottle was empty, the prime minister remarked: "Cool. I'll come visit you every time."
Anastasia Savinykh
