Meet Jesperpus (“yes-per-poose”), Norway’s famous adventure cat! This large, fluffy tabby bunks with his human family in the municipality of Løten, in Innlandet county in eastern Norway. He spends his days riding on one of his many horse friends, or out on the hunt with his younger cat brother, Kasper. He also loves to hike in the mountains and go swimming. However, his primary passion is snørekjøring.
In the sport of snørekjøring, better known to North Americans as skijoring, a human skier swoops over the snowscape, pulled along by a strong and fast animal or vehicle. As far as we know, Jesper is the only cat in this field dominated by dogs and horses! It started when a video of Jesper and his human Aina Stormo on a ski trip went viral in 2013. Harnessed by a thin lead, Jesper races ahead, clearly a determined and focused athlete. When he gets tired, he gives Aina a special signal – he flops down in the snow and refuses to move. She then scoops him and up and he enjoys a well-deserved rest, riding the rest of the way on her shoulders, the cold Nordic wind swirling through his fur and whiskers.
Jesperpus boasts an impressive social network following, holding a prominent presence on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. He has also made appearances on Spanish TV and has been glimpsed between the pages of a very popular German cat magazine. In 2016, he was named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential animals of the year. With such a busy schedule, it’s hard to determine when he found the time to inspire three books featuring his own fluffy self. The most recent is available to order in time for Christmas of 2021 (at least in Norway).
You can find out more about Jesperpus on his blog, https://www.jesperpus.com/blog/
Watch him and his human Snørekjøring here: https://youtu.be/u7ekWeSmWYQ
Photo credit: https://www.jesperpus.com/blog/