How much do we know about our smaller brothers? Do we know the possibilities of pets? Take cats, for example. Scientists have determined that representatives of the cat family can travel within 600-700 kilometers of the house. But among the purring creatures there are real champions. Lost cats return to the owners in another city or even country. Murmansk immortalized one such hero. Why did they erect a monument to the cat Semyon in Murmansk?
Way home
The prototype of a cat made of bronze was a real character that belonged to the Sinishins family. The couple, returning from the south through Moscow, lost an unlucky pet in the metropolis. They did not try to look for an animal: Moscow is a big city, and the probability of finding a pet there is zero.
What was the surprise of the owners when, six and a half years later, a tired, hungry, exhausted cat appeared at their doorstep. The animal meowed loudly, and when it was allowed into the house, it followed to a bowl of food and, satisfying hunger, it comfortably settled on the TV.
The legendary Semyon walked about two thousand kilometers. It is this distance that separates Murmansk and Moscow. The event could not go unnoticed, and in 1994 the newspaper “Murmansk Bulletin” wrote about the traveler. Later, the cat was shot in a short film.
For a long time this story was considered a legend, but journalists managed to find mistress Murlyka Alevtina Mikhailovna Sinishina. The woman said that for many years she and her husband reconciled with the loss of a pet, and the return of Semen was a real surprise for her husband and wife.
The adventures of an amazing animal did not leave indifferent correspondents, filmmakers, and simply not indifferent people. Admired by the loyalty of the cat to his native home, the journalist of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper presented the spouses with his autographed book.
Monument to the cat Semyon in Murmansk: history
The idea of creating a sculpture belongs to reporter Dmitry Kachalov. The journalist invited the authorities to acquire a kind of symbol of the city, like Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg.
The idea was supported, but they did not immediately decide on the image of the capital of the Arctic. Enthusiasts proposed casting in bronze the mythical deity of Cthulhu, a boy who stuck his tongue to a frozen hill, a reindeer, a cod liver prepared according to a local recipe. However, most of the townspeople voted for Semyon. Murmansk residents chose the layout of the monument and partially paid for the installation.
The victory in the competition of works of masters was won by the project of Nadezhda Vinyukova from Moscow, on the basis of which the monument to the cat Semen was cast in Murmansk.
Opening of the monument
The canvas was solemnly removed from the sculpture on October 2, 2013. The event was timed to the Day of the city. The ceremony was attended by the head of the administration Andrei Sysoev and the mayor of Murmansk Alexei Weller. At twelve o'clock in the afternoon the townspeople saw a plump cat sitting on a bench with a knapsack over his shoulders. Since then, the monument to the cat Semen in Murmansk is considered open.
Bronze Semen is not like his living brother, because it is impossible to maintain such weight after many years of travel. And cats cannot have bags with belongings. Nevertheless, the sculpture aroused great interest among the visitors of the event, especially among children.
Unfortunately, the owner of a real cat was not invited to the opening. Perhaps this happened because few believed in the authenticity of the story. But Alevtina Mikhailovna is not offended. Together with her grandson, she took part in the vote, and although she herself preferred the work of another master, the woman did not raise any objections to the selected monument to the cat Semyon in Murmansk.
Description of the sculpture
The monument not only perpetuates the image of a traveling cat, but also symbolizes the loyalty of pets to the owners. The sculpture of small forms is made of bronze and covered with a patina. The weight of the bronze Seed is one hundred twenty kilograms, and its height is more than one meter. The animal sits on a bench 1.6 meters long. The shop is decorated with the inscription: "Cat Semen."
Monument to the cat Semen in Murmansk (photo below) is an invitation to sit, think about the eternal, share your problems with wise life experience purr.
Belief
After the monument was unveiled, the inhabitants of Murmansk immediately began whispering cherished desires in the ear of a bronze traveler. Belief was born at the opening ceremony. The city leaders were the first to share their dreams, then the cat was occupied by children. Whether the conceived will come true, time will tell. And is it really that important? The main thing is that a halo of mystery has formed around the bronze cat, as befits a city sculpture.
Monument to the cat Semen in Murmansk: where is
The symbol of the capital of the Arctic is located not far from Lake Semenov. This is an amazing place in which civilization and nature are combined. Around the pond there is a recreation park where you can have a bite to eat, ride a boat, experience the thrill of rides.
Since the name of the cat is consonant with the name of the lake, someone might think that the object is named after Semyon. This is actually not the case. The lake was named after the Pomor Semyon Korzhev, who lived in these parts long before the appearance of the first buildings and moorings.
Monument to the cat Semen in Murmansk (address: shore of Lake Semenov) was installed in one of the favorite places of recreation for citizens. The nearby streets are Gagarina, Aleksandrova and Heroes-Severomortsev Avenue.
Other Traveling Cats
In Murmansk there is a monument to the cat Semen. But the prototype of the hero is not the only animal that has covered distances. So, in 2012, residents of Rostov-on-Don lost the cat Barsik in the city of Krasnodon (Ukraine). The animal returned a month later. Murlyka covered a distance of 200 kilometers, crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border.
In England, the cat returned home three weeks later. The pet ran 70 kilometers through the forest. The path home of the purring creature from Holland was 150 kilometers. Similar feats were repeated by cats in France and the USA. The Persian found the owners after they moved to Oklahoma. It is noteworthy that before the animal has never been in this state.
Scientific research
The amazing ability of cats to navigate in space was studied by specialists in Germany and the United States of America. The Germans carried the purr in closed boxes around the city, and then released. Participants in the experiment easily found their way to their home. Then the scientists complicated the task: cats were not only taken out of town, but they also allowed animals into the maze. The results exceeded all expectations: 98% of the subjects successfully completed the puzzle. Moreover, cats did not just get out of the maze, but did it through the exit leading home.
The Americans got similar results. In the experiments of US ethologists, animals did not see the road, because they slept soundly, but when they woke up, they orientated on the ground without problems.
The experiments carried out confirm the ability of cats to choose the right path, but do not explain the reasons for this behavior. One of the hypotheses is the presence in the tissues of a purr of iron interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. Their bodies are like a compass. To confirm the scientific assumption, a magnet was put on the cat, after which the animal had problems with orientation.
The above cases show how little people know about other creatures. We should be more attentive to our smaller brothers. Maybe then the coexistence of living organisms on Earth will become more constructive.