It happened! Part 1. Novosibirsk.
On August 8 of this year, what I could not have imagined two years ago finally happened — I visited every zoo with manuls in Russia.
Novosibirsk, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Izhevsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Barnaul.
How it all began
Most likely, my first “encounter” with manuls was in 2013, when in winter I went to the Moscow Zoo and, it seems, there lay a manul, curled up into a fluffy ball. I never saw its face.
Then there was a long break; the manul theme passed me by. And then suddenly — a manul is born at the Leningrad Zoo (2023). Photos of little Shu swept across the entire progressive internet. And I just happened to be in Saint Petersburg in August. After 16 hours, already quite tired, I went there, and I was lucky. Little Shu was very active, constantly running up to the fence, but his mother quickly put him in his place. That was my first truly conscious manul-watching. But the breakthrough came in 2023 (experts may correct me), when the video about Bol and Polly titled “When Your Wife Is in a Bad Mood” went viral in my news feed and absolutely refused to disappear (I don’t know whether the link will appear, but I think many people know and love this video).
I marveled at how fierce Bol’s little face looked; apparently, he was getting the worst of it from his wife. Now I know how organic it all was). My feed was now full of all kinds of manuls. I learned that there were lots of them in Novosibirsk. And so in 2024 came the first videos of manul kittens. That year, Lolo and Eva had babies. And I made a decision that fit me in absolutely no way whatsoever — to go to Novosibirsk! To see such an abundance of manuls with my own eyes. So September 2024 can be considered the beginning of my manul pilgrimage.
Trips to Novosibirsk
So far, I’ve been to the manul capital 7 times.
September is the time for fattening up; manuls become more active, and skipping a meal is absolutely not an option — meat, meat, meat! Watching the families at this moment is pure delight! How they snatch it, how they dash off at the speed of Jamaican sprinters. And if two manul kittens happen to grab one piece of meat or a mouse, then you really have to fight for it so the meat stays in your teeth)
Spring (I was there in February, March, and April). February and March are mating season. But I didn’t manage to see it in all its glory. First, it’s cold. Second, all the action and youthful antics begin after feeding, when it’s already getting dark and the zoo is open until 7 p.m., so it’s time to leave. But I still managed to hear the boys’ songs for the girls. And of course, the signature hissing)
April 18, 2026 — Grey’s birthday (the son of Zelenogrsk and Miya) — 1 year old. And I spontaneously decide — I’m going! The birthday boy was magnificent — he walked a lot, posed, and ate.
Summer. This year I went in July for the first time; I simply couldn’t miss the little ones at that age. In summer, before noon, the babies are in a sleepy kingdom. What do they do at night?) But after 6 p.m., the games began. The bravest ones came up to the fence
Of course, the older manuls also gave me incredible hours of observation — Anya, Gabi, Ruf, Mensu, and other residents of the Novosibirsk Zoo. Matriarch Lastochka honored us with her attention, Miya gave us a measuring look, and Marik kept up his water intake.
December. A trip that chilled body and soul. By evening it had dropped to minus 30. We had to run into enclosed spaces to warm up. But the furry balls were worth it.
Comments 11
The fluffiest winter manuls are on another device, but here’s a photo from a homemade calendar for the year ’26. Wow, what winter fur balls!
Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Zhora is the best!
The seasons are laid out excellently. Thank you.
Oh wow, I applaud your commitment to manul-watching!!! Thank you for all the wonderful photos! You have truly been blessed by the manul gods!
In recent years, going out into the streets in winter and summer in the Novosibirsk region has been a feat😁 The photos and the story are fire! We’re waiting for the next parts❤️
Thank you! What a great story!
Ta-daaam! Lyudmila, congratulations on your complete collection of Russian manul zoos! 👏🏻🔥
You are a truly devoted manulpilgrim with the hot heart of a traveler!
Thank you so much for the story, it was very interesting to read! 🤓
Amazing story! I read it with great pleasure!
Which season did you like best in Novosibirsk?
Vika and I are crazy about winter, even though it’s soooo cold and we have to keep running into warm places to warm up 😻
Roman Paulovverified_filled ,
I love winter. And even more so when it’s as snowy as it is here. On the train I poured boiling water into a thermos and off I went. If the weather was fine at the end of February and the beginning of March, then I remember the days around December 20 with a shudder. Then in the evening, before the train, I went for a walk through the decorated city, and I even had to stop into two cafés and one coffee shop.
And summer—ugh, it’s rough. I’m already sensitive to gnats and mosquitoes, but at the zoo it was hard. It was even harder because of another thing—do they crawl up to the furballs, do they pester the matriarch Lastochka, do they swarm over the little ones, do they add to Zhorzhik’s sternness? And I remember the photo of Zelenogorsk with a mosquito—rrrrrrr.
Lyudmila, thank you so much for all the stories about the manul pilgrimage! (Pilgrimage?)) I admire you and congratulate you on completing the quest of visiting all the manul zoos! I read all the posts with great pleasure, though in reverse order))) ❤️