A native of Azerbaijan, she is now a resident of St. Petersburg and a prima-donna of the Mariinsky Theatre. A real star, she doesn’t even need to have a last name because everyone knows her as Monika and because she is a donkey.

She is 20 years old – which is just about middle aged in donkey years – but despite her age she is being pampered. Since the age of two, Monika has been performing on the stage of the world famous Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. She plays her character in the ballets Don Quixote and Undine, and brings an average of 200 dollars per night to the zoo. Backstage, she is one of the cast. 

In her daily life, the four-legged prima doesn't show a hint of stubbornness. But Monika's trainer, has noticed traces of “star syndrome” since she was three months old.

“She loves to hide and wait for someone to find her. She is used to attention and when she doesn't get it she wants to sneak out. But she always comes back,” says Tamara Trebulez, Monika's trainer.

For Monica several stage appearances a week is no donkey work, she spends most of her time socialising and occasionally she can interrupt her routine for a training session, just to stay in shape. And her fan club gathers daily in her home yard in the zoo. 

Always an object of affection, she remains the most famous character in the St. Petersburg zoo, even though the competition is fierce.