Happy Birthday, Batu!
Yesterday was the 10th birthday of Batu, the Pallas's cat at Prospect Park Zoo. I specifically drove to Brooklyn to visit the fluffy birthday star. But the biggest surprise was getting to see Batu's fluffy wife, Sarnai, who is rarely spotted — what a beautifully delicate-faced cat she is!
It all came together thanks to the zoo's Pallas's cat keeper, Ashley — whose name I actually learned from the HBO documentary series The Zoo, Season 3, Episode 9: "Grumpy Cat's New Digs," which introduced Batu and Sarnai and showcased the construction of their new exhibit. I was lucky enough to run into her while I was watching the cats, and I got to ask her about how both cats are doing. Their breeding season this year just wrapped up, and the breeding process has not been very successful. These two have been a breeding pair for many years. A few years ago they had a kitten that died young, and later a mass was found in Sarnai's uterus. Ashley mentioned that the zoo has already collected semen from Batu, so artificial insemination is an option if needed in the future — and it turns out the birthday boy Batu actually has high-quality Pallas's cat sperm!
After I explained why I'd come and mentioned that I had never once seen Sarnai, Ashley said she wasn't going to let me leave empty-handed today (so kind of her!), and went into the back den to fetch Sarnai's favorite enrichment items — a tray of balls and a tray of wooden blocks. And that's how we got the beautiful Sarnai finally venturing out into the outdoor exhibit.
The two cats seemed to get along quite well and appeared comfortable with each other. Sarnai is such a beautiful rose— Batu is a lucky guy! The last time I visited, Batu had been pacing the outdoor exhibit in what looked like repetitive patrol behavior, and I was worried he might be developing a stereotypy. But yesterday I observed a much wider variety of behaviors, so I think I was overthinking it — after all, Prospect Park Zoo is a zoo with decades of experience caring for Pallas's cats. He got his birthday rat treats, did a round of patrolling outside, and polished off his meal — the whole show, which I managed to miss entirely, unfortunately! Thank you for taking such a good care of them, Ashley!
Here's hoping both little cats stay healthy and live long lives! I'm already planning to come back next month for Sarnai's 10th birthday : )
Comments 23
Happy birthday, Batu! 🎂🎉 What a wonderful trip to the zoo you had! Thank you so much for such a heartfelt story and for the online meeting with Batu and Sarnai 🤗
Happy birthday, Batu! What a wonderful family photo and heartfelt story, thank you so much! 🥳🥳🥳🥰😍🥰
Happy birthday, Batu! 🥂🥩 I've seen the episode "Grumpy Cat's New Digs" too and wondering if Batu and Sarnai get along together. I didn't know about the kitten who passed away young🥲 I hope they get healthy kittens some day🙏
Thank you for your report!
Omg! Thank you for your article! Batu happy birthday! My dear friend!
Shortleg Meow, I love your Sarnai and Batu pics so much!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAH BOI
Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Happy Birthday, Batu! We wish you looong looong years, strong health and manul happyness!
Baomi , thank you for your article! What a wonderful trip you had, and how lucky you were to meet Ashley and see both Sarnai and Batu! Tell me, does Sarnai play with her toys? Vika and I are very interested in artificial insemination and the experience of American zoos with it! This method is not very common in Europe, Russia, and Japan.
Thanks for the great article! It was very interesting to learn about how Pallas's cats live overseas.
Happy birthday, Batu!!! I need to visit these two again... They're the closest manuls to me, and I definitely don't visit them enough. 😭 Prospect Park is just so annoying to get to from here... But maybe I'll try to make a point to go for Sarnai's birthday! 🤞
Baomi, thank you so much for this wonderful article and the fluffy greetings from Batu and Sarnai!🤗 It was really interesting to learn more about manuls. Please say hello to this fluffy pair from us when you visit them next time!❤️
P.S. Could you please take a photo of the manuls’ enclosure on your next visit? We’re very curious to see it, and I know this information will also be valuable for specialists from other countries who work with manuls 🤓
Vika Malyshkoverified_filled ,
I have some pics from my visit if baomi doesn't! It's a little disappointing though because the outdoor area is comparatively small. There's a much larger indoor area, but it's not available to the public. :(
Vika Malyshkoverified_filled ,
I did take quite a few videos, but unfortunately not a proper photo of the enclosure — there's a large tree at the front of the exhibit that blocks the view, making it hard to get a clean full shot. I'll make sure to try next time! In the meantime, you can watch Season 3 Episode 9 of The Zoo for free here: https://www.animalplanet.com/video/the-zoo-animal-planet/grumpy-cats-new-digs — it documents the building of the exhibit from scratch, which I think you'll find really fascinating. I'll be sure to pass along your warm greetings to Batu and Sarnai on my next visit!
Roman Paulovverified_filled ,
Sarnai stepped right into the ball tray and made herself completely at home in her little ocean of balls! Regarding artificial insemination, I think part of the reason American zoos invest more heavily in this approach is that, unlike in Eurasia, there is no possibility of introducing rescued Pallas's cats to diversify the genetic pool. The North American zoo population is essentially a closed one and if breeding programs or partnerships with Eurasian zoos were to pause (a valid concern, sadly, given the current political landscape), institutions would need to be much more proactive about managing genetic diversity and maintaining a self-sustaining captive population. Collecting and banking semen from genetically valuable individuals like Batu is one important tool in that effort. There is actually a growing body of literature on this. Quite a few papers have been published in academic journals on artificial reproductive technologies in Pallas's cats specifically, so it might be worth digging into if you haven't already!
Wishing you all the best on your special day, Batu!
Thank you so much for the interesting reportage, baomi!
mnamosyna (rachael), I'd be so grateful if you'd share these photos with us! You can upload them to the zoo's website and tag them, or, for example, send them directly here in the comments! 🙌🏻
Vika Malyshkoverified_filled ,
Ah I actually had some. Here they are!
baomi, Baomi, thank you so much! ☺️
Oh, the distance between the enclosure mesh and the visitors is quite large! (Not the easiest conditions for filming 🤓)
I like how Sarnai peeks out from her little house in the first photo😄 That’s the inner part of their enclosure, right?
Vika Malyshkoverified_filled ,
Yes, visitors are kept behind the tree line, which creates quite a significant distance between them and the mesh, making it really challenging to get clean footage. That's why I always envy people who manage to get great photos of manuls at the zoo! And yes, that is the door to their den — you can peek through the small window and spot a floating shelf they use to climb up and down. I actually got a rare glimpse of the interior when Ashley opened the door, and it was surprisingly spacious. Batu and Sarnai have a whole room to themselves!
Baomi, thank you so much for the interesting and touching story! I'm so happy to see Sarnai and Batu! Manuli joys to these precious fluffy kittens!
baomi, I think we've never seen these series! Will watch it!
baomi, Wow! We don't often see Pallas's cats playing with toys, especially adults! It's so cool that Sarnai has something to do and interactive toys!
Yes, unfortunately, exchanges are very difficult now :( I'm glad that the US uses modern methods like artificial insemination to maintain its Pallas's cat population. This is worthy of respect!
I think I read two articles on this topic that were published by zoologists from the USA - they are very informative!