Korkeasaari Zoo: a journey into manul history!

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Who is Takapiha? 😁

Manulizationverified_filled

9 hours ago • translated from Russian, show original

Friends, we invite you to dive into Finnish manul history and learn more about the manuls that once lived at Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki.

The history of keeping and breeding manuls at Korkeasaari began around the same time as at Novosibirsk Zoo—in the 1990s. One of the first breeding pairs were the manuls you already know, Pushkin and Pavlova. This pair had many kittens, and together they made an enormous contribution to the modern manul population in captivity. Today, the descendants of these Tuvan floofs live in many zoos around the world!

After that, the manul story of Korkeasaari Zoo on our website was interrupted... Time to fix that! Let’s find out who lived in Helsinki after Pushkin and Pavlova.

Petrus. One of Pushkin and Pavlova’s eldest sons, born in May 1998 with his brother Pjotr and two little sisters—Petrushka and Pallas. Note that all the names in this manul family not only begin with the letter “P,” but are also related to the name Peter, which comes from the Greek petros—“stone” or “rock”!

Petrus was the only one who remained in his childhood home at Korkeasaari—the others moved to other zoos.

And in 2003, a fluffy bride named Solitaire arrived to join him from Vienna, Austria.

Solitaire in Korkeasaari Zoo, February 29, 2012

Solitaire in her winter coat❄️

Solitaire was born on March 18, 2000, to a family of fluffy Siberian émigrés at Schönbrunn Zoo—the oldest zoo in the world.

Solitaire in her summer coat 🌿

Her name comes from the French le solitaire which means “lonely,” “hermit.” Surely you agree that the name perfectly reflects the independent nature and solitary lifestyle of the manul.

Solitaire in Korkeasaari Zoo, July 18, 2012

Solitaire, where did you get your paws wet? 😃

In April 2007, Solitaire and Petrus had kittens. In 2009, one of their sons moved to Tallinn Zoo, where he was given the name Tobias.

In 2012, with Solitaire’s passing, the story of Pavlova and Pushkin’s remarkable fluffy dynasty at Korkeasaari Zoo came to an end, but it continues in many other corners of the world 💞

In spring 2013, new blood arrived at Korkeasaari from Sweden’s Parken Zoo —the most charming young Scandinavian manulady, Dalai.

Dalai in Korkeasaari Zoo, February 24, 2014

And just a couple of months later, a young fluffy gentlecat came rushing from Banham Zoo in England to court her, known to many of you as Mortti.

Mortti in Korkeasaari Zoo, March 26, 2014

But did you know that Mortti had another name?

Takapiha (Takapiha)—that is what he was called at Korkeasaari Zoo. Takapiha means “backyard” or “yard behind the house” in Finnish. We do not know why he was given such a funny name, but perhaps it was connected to the location of his enclosure (what do you think?).

Mortti in Korkeasaari Zoo, March 26, 2014

Mr. Takapiha aka Mortti 😄

In May 2016, Dalai and Takapiha aka Mortti, had minuls: one boy and three girls.

Mamanul Dalai with her minuls 🥰

You have surely already met three of them—Fin , Pomponnette , and Sarnai .

Little Fin bravely endures the humiliation of veterinary procedures and memorizes the zoologists’ faces 😆e

Pomponnette in Korkeasaari Zoo, September 2, 2016

Little Pomponette 🥰

Sarnai is not thrilled about what is happening either, but she seems to have accepted it 😄

But you are surely hearing the fourth girl’s name for the first time now—admire her, this is Matilda !

Little Matilda: what are these skinbags doing!?😑

All four floofs grew up and moved on to new zoos and countries: Fin and Sarnai went to America, Pomponette to France, and Matilda to Russia.

Today, Dalai and Mortti’s descendants live in many zoos around the world, and this year their glorious dynasty has already welcomed great-great-grandchildren—Aslan, Luka, and Everest, born at Niabi Zoo in the United States.

Everest, Luka, and Aslan in Niabi Zoo, June 3, 2026

Author: Manulizationverified_filled

By the way, here’s another interesting fact about Dalai: today, you can see her at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, where she is displayed as one of only a handful of museum specimens of the Pallas’s cat in the world!

The museum even released a separate video in which the taxidermist explains how the work of preserving her for history and the museum collection was carried out.

This concludes our journey through Korkeasaari’s manul archives. But the story of these manuls has not disappeared. It lives on in their descendants, linking the zoo’s past with its fluffy inhabitants of today 🥰

Many thanks to Korkeasaari Zoo for the information and photographs provided! ❤️