Timofei, a popular Pallas’s cat at Moscow Zoo, remains without a breeding partner after multiple international zoos declined to provide a suitable mate, The Moscow Times reported.
To support healthy breeding and maintain genetic diversity, zoo officials have been searching for a genetically compatible female, according to zoo director Svetlana Akulova. However, several zoos across Europe and Asia have refused to cooperate, citing specific reasons.
Japan’s Higashiyama Zoo, for example, said its Pallas’s cats are currently on loan and cannot be relocated. The Warsaw Zoo declined to transfer its female cat, Jessie, citing her participation in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) and her importance to the zoo’s collection.
A French wildlife park was also unable to assist after health checks revealed its female cats carried feline herpesvirus. In Finland, zoo officials said their only female Pallas’s cat is already part of an established breeding pair.
Born in 2020 in Novosibirsk, Timofei has become one of the Moscow Zoo’s most recognizable animals. His seasonal weight gain ahead of winter — a natural trait for the species — has contributed to his growing popularity online.
Despite conservation challenges, the Pallas’s cat is currently listed as «Least Concern» on the IUCN Red List, reflecting its relatively wide distribution and stable population. Meanwhile, tourists recently spotted a female Pallas’s cat with a kitten in the wild near Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan’s Almaty region. Experts believe this is a positive sign, suggesting the animals feel safe in the area and are reproducing.
