Manul Bjorns, beloved by Riga Zoo employees and visitors, has passed away

“It is with sadness that we announce that we have said goodbye to one of the smallest, but also the most beloved cats of Riga Zoo visitors – Manula Bjorn.

Bjorn had reached the age of eight, which is neither much nor little for a man. However, in the last six months, he suffered health problems – first otitis media, then neurological complications appeared during treatment, which became more serious over time.

They did not respond to treatment, so it was decided to euthanize Bjorn – it was a hard decision for the whole team, because the zoo staff had also fallen in love with the manula.

Bjorn was born on April 1, 2014 in “Nordens Ark” zoo in Sweden. He came to the Riga Zoo in December of the same year. For a while, Bjorn lived with a female manula, but the couple had no babies.

Since 2019, he was the only manul in the Riga Zoo, but this does not bother these cats – they are also loners in nature.

For now, the manuli will not return to the Riga Zoo, but in a few years the exposition of this species is planned to be created again during the “Masterplan 2035″ – in the first round – in the Himalayas,” Riga Zoo informs.