The last daughter of Altana and Fellini has moved to her new home!
Tuya in Parco Faunistico La Torbiera, May 11, 2025
The last daughter of Altana and Fellini from their fluffy Italian all-girl quartet of 2025 has recently left her home at Parco Faunistico La Torbiera and set off for her new one — to the Chemnitz Zoo in Germany, where her fiancé, Bob, is already waiting for her ❤️
Her name is Tuya (Туяа). It's a Mongolian name which means “a ray of light”.
Bob in Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden, November 28, 2022
We were lucky enough to see all the girls at La Torbiera when they were little cubs, just like in these photos 🥰
We hope to meet all of them again in their new homes:
- Saran in Bio-Topia Dunkerque;
- Tsas in Kraków Zoo;
- Tuya in Chemnitz Zoo;
- Ariunaa in Brno Zoo.
All the fluffy girls were sent to their new homes as part of the EEP program, which aims to ensure genetic diversity, improve animal welfare, and increase the species’ chances of long-term survival.
Comments 11
so tuya was moved to the zoo who her grandmother pema lived
grushafan21, Yes! We hope to visit her soon :)
Well, for the repose of the souls of the Chemnitz beetles and spiders!
Pavel Burov, 😈😆😆
Oh, wow, the girls really went all over Europe! I hope they're all settling in and not missing their sisters too much. 💚💚
They've grown up so quickly and moved away! Now Altana needs to rest and think about new babies 🤗
Incest is bad :( Who let the beautiful Tuya be mated with her uncle 😡😡😡
eetunousiainen, Probably the same person who put Lucy in with her grandfather Bohus, or Poes and Norbu together... However. The sad truth is, in Europe most manuls come from 2, maybe 3 lines that intermingled already. they're all related.
partyontheobjective, I know, but usually they are at least third cousin, not that close. Also I may be ignorant but i don't recall Poes and Norbu having kittens nor Lucy and Bohus, while Bob is said to be Tuya's fiance
eetunousiainen, Based on our discussions with zoologists from various zoos, we came to the conclusion that, of course, it is beneficial for a population when inbreeding is kept to a minimum. However, reality often differs from the ideal scenarios zoologists would prefer. Their job is to maintain populations under the conditions that currently exist.
There are quite a few historical examples of populations that originated from just one or a few pairs. In zoos, these include Przewalski's horse, Père David's deer, California condor, and Guam crow. In the wild, a well-known example is the European bison.
While looking for additional examples in nature, I came across an interesting study showing that a population of wild sheep (mouflon) on the Kerguelen Islands — which originated from a single pair — exhibited much greater genetic diversity than scientists had predicted — https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070620154911.htm
Almost all manuls in Europe are part of the EEP, and breeding pairs are determined by the species coordinator, who has the necessary education, experience, and software tools to calculate optimal pairings.
One of the reasons for creating this website is to educate people about the breeding of wild animals in zoo conditions, where populations are limited. Yes, sometimes the decisions made by zoologists may not align with what we are used to in everyday human life. So rather than rushing to conclusions or criticism, try to see this as an opportunity to learn something new. Take a moment to understand why things are the way they are — and we will do our best to help with that.
Manulization, Thanks for a comprehensive answer