Messi (cougar)

Messi (Russian: Месси; born 30 October 2015) is a pet cougar, model and Internet celebrity, owned by Russian couple Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev. Messi was adopted in 2016 from a local petting zoo. They live with Messi in a two-storey house on a large plot of land in Penza, Russia. In 2017, the Dmitrievs started an Instagram account and a YouTube channel for Messi, which became very popular by 2018 and continues to grow in subscribers.

Messi
SpeciesPuma concolor
SexMale
Born (2015-10-30) 30 October 2015
Saransk, Mordovia, Russia
Occupation
Years active2017–present
Known forBeing kept as a pet
Owner
  • Alexandr Dmitriev
  • Mariya Dmitriev
ResidencePenza, Penza Oblast, Russia
Named afterLionel Messi

Early life

Messi was born in a zoo at Saransk, Russia. He was one of three newborn cougars at the zoo to be named after professional football players for FC Barcelona; Messi was named after Lionel Messi, and the other two were named Suarez and Neymar. The cubs were given these names because Saransk was one of several cities proposed to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[1][2][3] Messi was later sold to a petting zoo in Penza when he was three months old.[4]

Messi was significantly smaller than other typical male cougars, and as the species is not native to Russia, he could not be released into the wild. He had numerous other health problems as well, which deemed him unable to live in a zoo or wildlife sanctuary either. Furthermore, workers at the petting zoo originally planned to euthanize him.[5]

In 2016, Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev visited the Penza zoo and met Messi for the first time. The couple experienced "love at first sight," and noticed Messi's exceptionally gentle personality.[6][7] The Dmitrievs considered purchasing Messi as a pet, and made the final decision to purchase Messi from the petting zoo.[8]

Domestic life

When they first purchased Messi, Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev lived in a small studio apartment in Penza.[4] The hallway of the apartment was modified and was designated as Messi's play area.[4] Messi uses toys such as empty bottles and balls.[9] Messi has a gentle and calm personality, and has never attacked a person.[6] The Dmitrievs sometimes refer to him as "kitten."[8]

Messi is regarded by his owners as similar to a domestic dog.[8] He has been trained at a local dog training facility and has learned around ten formal commands.[4][10] The Dmitrievs walk Messi regularly using a leash, coat, and harness through various environments.[8][10]

Messi is fed twice a day,[11] and his diet mostly consists of raw turkey, beef, and chicken.[6][10] It costs the Dmitrievs about 630 rubles per day to feed him.[6][7] The couple regularly bathes Messi in a bathtub and sometimes trim his nails.[6]

Messi is house-broken (trained) and prefers to stay inside when there is snow outside.

Media attention

In 2017, the Dmitrievs started an Instagram account and YouTube channel for Messi, both called "I_am_puma". Pictures and videos published to these social media accounts show various aspects of daily life with the cougar. Messi's social media accounts quickly grew in popularity; by January 2018, the Instagram account already had almost 150,000 followers and over 50 million views.[5][8] The Instagram account currently has over 1,400,000 followers, and the YouTube channel has over 1,000,000 subscribers.[6][8] Mariya is the manager of the social media accounts.[4]

Relations with other animals

Messi also shared the property and attention of the Dmitrievs with a 10-year-old female cheetah named Itchel, who was given to the Dmitrievs by a circus trainer in December 2019 and revealed in January 2020. Itchel the cheetah died in April 2020 due to lung cancer.

Currently the Dmitrievs own another female cheetah, named Gerda, having a similar calm and gentle personality. Messi becomes anxious when Gerda is present, but relations between the two animals are improving. Gerda has her own YouTube channel, "I_am_cheetah".

Criticism

Despite mostly favorable attention on social media, some have criticized the Dmitrievs for keeping Messi under domestic circumstances. Opposers of the domestication of wild animals fear that Messi's wild needs will not be met, and that once Messi reaches sexual maturity he may become more prone to dangerous behavior. They advise the Dmitrievs to send Messi to a wildlife reserve or sanctuary.[4][10] The Dmitrievs, however, believe that Messi would not be able to survive in a wild setting.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Suarez, Neymar and Messi find a home in Russian zoo". Reuters. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  2. de Menezes, Jack (5 December 2015). "Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar honoured as Russian zoo names puma cubs after Barcelona trio". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  3. "Meet the 3 years old pumas named 'Messi', 'Neymar' and 'Luis Suárez' in Saransk". Panamá Today. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  4. Ganguly, Sudipto (22 June 2018). "Russia's Messi, a puma - star in his own right". WDEZ. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  5. Etemadieh, Arianna (18 January 2018). "Meet Messi, The 1st Domesticated Puma. He's Gotten 58 Million Views And Isn't Slowing Down Soon". Animal Channel. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  6. "Couple Says Their Pet Cougar Is Part of Their Family: 'It Was Love at First Sight'". Inside Edition. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  7. Hooper, Ben (21 February 2018). "Russian couple keeping cougar as pet in small apartment". United Press International. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  8. "'Like owning a dog': Cougar kept as pet in Russian apartment (VIDEO)". RT. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  9. Chorney, Saryn (16 February 2018). "Puma Rescued from Russian Zoo Lives Luxurious Life as Insta-Famous House Cat". People. Retrieved 2018-06-29. Messi lives in a two-storey house on property along with Kira (a sphinx cat) and Gerda (the cheetah).
  10. Brooks, Natasha (11 January 2018). "Pet Puma Who Is Trained Like a Dog Is Making Waves on Social Media — Why This Is More Dangerous Than Cute". One Green Planet. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  11. Sharma, Ruchira (21 February 2018). "This Russian couple's pet cougar has become an internet sensation". International Business Times. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
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