Political Animals

Who would’ve thought that choosing a zoo mascot would be so controversial? The Novosibirsk Zoo in Siberia announced that, for 2022, its new mascot would be chosen by a public vote. What began as a fun opportunity for the public to get involved quickly became embroiled in scandal, after Sergei Boyko chose to show his support for the orangutan Batu.

Sergei Boyko, an exiled city deputy, broadcast his support for the orangutan on YouTube, urging other influencers and bloggers, such as Ilya Varlamov, to get behind the movement. Despite the assumption that the orangutan would not be a good candidate, given its supposedly “unappealing” appearance compared to other mammals, votes surged for Batu.

It is not clear why Boyko and others chose Batu, but he soon came to represent Russia’s opposition. So of course the mayor’s office stepped in to quash the orangutan’s support by mysterious means.

Soon enough, a polar bear cub named Shilka took the lead in voting. Then the white snow leopard Sayan won by a long shot, earning 25,000 votes in just one-day. These votes were found to be fraudulent, however, as they poured in over just four hours, despite the website having only 1,851 visitors.

When the dust settled on the mascot vote rigging, the zoo ended its competition, saying they will pick a mascot themselves, and that they are upset to see the animals being used in such a manner.

“Unfortunately, today we see that our animals have become participants in a farce organized by the people,” the zoo wrote on its website. 

“Novosibirsk Zoo is not interested in such attention to our animals, and we do not like offensive memes, therefore we ask that the survey be stopped and its results not taken into account,” its statement said.

Not surprisingly, the cancelled vote riled Batu’s tribe of supporters. 

“I always knew the city was run by a zoo, but at least they were ashamed of it before,” Boyko tweeted.

“I Wanna Be Like You” (aka The Monkey Song*)
From The Jungle Book movie,

Now I’m the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I’ve reached the top and had to stop
And that’s what botherin’ me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I’m tired of monkeyin’ around!

* Song by Bruce Reitherman, Louis Prima, and Phil Harris