Petruschka—the gorgeous Pallas's cat, who used to live in The Cat House.
She was born on May 21, 1998 in Korkeasaari Zoo to the family of Pushkin the Pallas's cat and Pavlova the Pallas's cat. Read more about the travels of Petruschka.
Petruschka was given her name in Korkeasaari Zoo where she was born. At Korkeasaari, there is a wonderful tradition of giving animals names beginning with one particular letter, moving on through the alphabet each year. In the year this litter of manul kittens was born, that letter was P. But the zoo staff decided to have a little fun with the names and also link them to the name Pyotr, which comes from the Greek “petros”—“stone” or “rock”! The name Petrushka has several meanings: it is a diminutive, affectionate form of the name Pyotr; it is the name of a plant that entered Russian through the Polish pietruszka and ultimately derives from the Greek petroselinon—“mountain celery,” from petros (“stone”) and selinon (“celery”); and, of course, Petrushka is a character in Russian folk theatre. His name, too, is connected with Pyotr: the character was called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, while later sources also feature the variant Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov. Read more about the names of Petruschka.
Unfortunately Petruschka is not with us anymore. She passed away on February 17, 2005, she was six years old.
Siblings of Petruschka the Pallas's cat
Twin brothers born on May 21, 1998 in Korkeasaari Zoo to the family of Pushkin and Pavlova.
Younger siblings born on May 5, 1999 in Korkeasaari Zoo to the family of Pushkin and Pavlova.
Photos and videos of Petruschka the Pallas's cat
Petruschka's travel adventures
On February 2, 1999 Petruschka moved from Korkeasaari Zoo to Rotterdam Zoo.
On May 7, 2003 Petruschka moved from Rotterdam Zoo to The Cat House.
Naming history of Petruschka the Pallas's cat
In 1998 in Korkeasaari Zoo she was given her name Petrushka. At Korkeasaari, there is a wonderful tradition of giving animals names beginning with one particular letter, moving on through the alphabet each year. In the year this litter of manul kittens was born, that letter was P. But the zoo staff decided to have a little fun with the names and also link them to the name Pyotr, which comes from the Greek “petros”—“stone” or “rock”! The name Petrushka has several meanings: it is a diminutive, affectionate form of the name Pyotr; it is the name of a plant that entered Russian through the Polish pietruszka and ultimately derives from the Greek petroselinon—“mountain celery,” from petros (“stone”) and selinon (“celery”); and, of course, Petrushka is a character in Russian folk theatre. His name, too, is connected with Pyotr: the character was called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, while later sources also feature the variant Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov.