Illar Muul - A Man from the Treetops

Illar Muul is a scientist who dedicated his life to studying flying squirrels. Originally from Saaremaa Island, Estonia, Muul was force to flee his home country as a young boy in 1944 due to II World War. The twists and turns of life took him to the tropics where he created canopy walkways between trees to better study these curious animals who never descend from the treetops. 

In addition to his scientific work, Muul took the sustainable management of forests as his mission. He also saw the possibilities of tourism as a way to keep forests from being cut down and give a source of livelyhood for the local people.

In 2020 after Illar Muul's death, his legacy found it's way to our museum. Now we have opened what we hope to be the first on many exhibitions based on these materials. This exhibition centers around Illar Muul as a person and a scientist. The exhibition displays over 20 drawings by Muul of different species of flying squirrels and almost as many historical photographs.