Feeding at the Novosibirsk Zoo

Omg I can't believe the height they achieved up that fence!  And the speed of that final snatch!  They're such little bundles of excitement!!!  Thank you for the great videos!

mnamosyna (rachael), I'm happy that you enjoyed watching it, too.

Bounce, bounce, bounce!  Delightful!  From now on when I think of the phrase "feeding time at the zoo" this is what will come to mind.  Along of course with the old and perennially adorable video of feeding kittens chunks of meat and how one decided to bite the keeper on the ankle.  I hope he was wearing thick socks.

They aren't afraid of the broom 😂

yealurowluro, I was startled too when I saw the manul kitten bite the keeper's ankle! She wasn't startled, so I don't think she was hurt.

dixi, It was the first time I’d ever seen the keeper bang-bang on the door with a broom! Haha

Broom training 😆

The first keeper looks timid, while the second is already experienced 🤭 

Their speed is definitely wow! Future F1 racers, no doubt 💪

dixi, How can you be afraid of a broom when there’s such a big piece of meat right in front of your eyes? 😉

As I understand it, the broom is the most important thing. Without it, the keeper would have one more free hand.

No joke, I stopped filming the feeding of the manuls in Novosibirsk in June, when I realized just how poorly everything was organized. Strictly speaking, the term “organized” does not apply here. There is no organization of the process; there is no process either. There is an enclosure unsuited to feeding cats and a keeper who is expected to be nimble. Under such conditions, injury to the keeper or the animal is not a question of if, but when. Or both.

It’s hard when there are so many of them (the manuls). It would be much easier with just one. But here, your eyes dart everywhere; get distracted for a moment, and someone will dash out the door. 

Everyone here is nimble and active—the manuls and the keepers alike.

Pavel Burov, All these “games with the gate” make me wonder how Snezhana might have sustained her injury.

helga ingvar, This is because no feeding system has been developed. There is an enclosure, manuls inside, and outside, a keeper with a bucket of food. After that, you’re on your own—make do as best you can. That doesn’t work.

At the very least, provide a vestibule where food can be placed, close the vestibule, then give the animals access to it—is that really so difficult?

The worst thing about all this is the lack of a systematic approach. And that, in turn, indicates that the problem is most likely not recognized as a problem. Unassailable arguments along the lines of:
— We’ve always done it this way!

Captain Obvious :)

Pavel Burov, Given the number of manuls at the zoo and especially the number of mamanuls who've had large litters, I'm amazed no one's managed to sneak out past a keeper yet!  

Although now that I think about it, I suppose they wouldn't go far.  It's that keeper with the food after all!

Thank you for the video! But I was really worried about both the keepers and the manul kittens! What speed! The St. Petersburg manul kittens were brought a basin of meat along with Pepe, and they all ate from it at a leisurely pace)))

Мария, So that’s how the manul kittens eat meat in St. Petersburg. It differs from zoo to zoo. Good to know.

You can't scare a manul with a broom) It reminded me of how little Snezhinka would pounce on the keeper along with the treat.

mnamosyna (rachael), What if, at that very moment, a keeper happens to be passing by with a cart of food for the lions? Then he’d definitely run off after a big piece of meat :) Though the lions in Novosibirsk are very far from the manuls, so such a meeting is impossible :)

Maarja Liit, Me too - I love Snezhinka's little "feed me" dance...

The most amazing thing is that amid this chaos of cats, Snezhana is racing around on three legs right alongside the little ones 🤪

For the third day now, I've been rewatching it) I noticed Snezhana too, in a fierce battle for meat! Pepesha, on the other hand—there was a video where she comes up to the bowl with the leftover food after the kittens have already eaten.

I wonder, with this kind of feeding, could it happen that one of the manuls doesn't get any food?