Published on: 2026-09-03
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
At the Moscow Zoo, which is subordinate to the capital’s Department of Culture, in July the family of muskoxen — Charlotte and Funtik — had offspring. They moved to the Moscow Zoo at the end of 2024 from the Ingilor Nature Park in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Funtik previously lived in the city territory of the zoo.
“Charlotte and Funtik became parents for the first time, each about three years old. The calf was born on July 4 weighing 13 kilograms. And in a month and a half it grew to weigh 37 kilograms. Now the muskox lives in one enclosure with its mother Charlotte, visitors can see it from the balcony of the ‘Pinnipeds’ pavilion. The rest of the group — including seven muskoxen — live elsewhere, the calf will reunite with them later,” said Svetlana Akulova, General Director of the Moscow Zoo.
Currently, the young one is fed with mother’s milk; its diet also includes grass, muesli, and compound feed for herbivores.
The current offspring is already the second for the young musk oxen that arrived from Yamal. In early July, a baby was born to Mashka and Dobrynya, who settled in the rare species breeding center of the Moscow Zoo.
The muskox (or musk bull) is one of the most ancient and unusual hoofed animals on the planet. This species appeared back in the Pleistocene epoch and survived the Ice Age. Today, muskoxen inhabit the Arctic regions of North America, Greenland, and Russia. In our country, they have been successfully reintroduced in Taimyr, Yamal, and other territories of the Far North.
Powerful animals have double-layered fur: a dense undercoat (six to eight times warmer than sheep’s wool) and long coarse guard hairs — this allows them to withstand frosts down to minus 40 degrees and below. They feed on a variety of plant foods appropriate to the season.
The Moscow Zoo is a dynamically developing space where scientific work is conducted, international conferences are held, educational programs are implemented, and a unique atmosphere is created daily for city residents and visitors to get acquainted with the amazing world of living nature.
At the beginning of 2025, the Moscow Zoo set a world record for the number of animal species represented: it housed 1,253 species. By 2026, their number had exceeded 1,280.
The program of events in the wildlife rescue department of the Moscow Zoo contributes to the achievement of the national project goals and objectives in the city “Family”. More details about Russia’s national projects and the capital’s contribution can be found at special page.
A large-scale project has appeared on the mos.ru portal special project, dedicated to the development of key areas of Moscow. Among them are transport, industry, healthcare, education, sports, and the construction sector. The special project helps to learn how the capital has changed over recent years, what initiatives aimed at making citizens’ lives even more comfortable are currently being implemented, and what awaits Moscow and its residents in the near future.
On the project page “Culture, Heritage, and Leisure Industry” You can learn about how architectural monuments are preserved in the capital. Moscow is the center of the country’s cultural life and ranks among the leading metropolises in terms of the number of museums and exhibition halls. The city has created a film cluster that unites the MosKino film factory on Ryazansky Avenue, the Gorky Film Studio, and the MosKino film park.
Get the main news promptly on the official Moscow city channels in messengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
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