COLUMBUS – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is giving the public a chance to name one of the zoo’s newest arrivals: A two-month-old female polar bear cub.
Anyone who wants to cast a vote can do so on the zoo’s website once every 24 hours until midnight Feb. 3.
The Columbus Zoo’s animal care staff selected the following finalists for voters to choose from:
Desna, an Inuit name meaning “boss”
Kaya, a native American name meaning “little but wise”
Nora, a blending of the cub’s parents’ names: Nanuq and Aurora
Sakari, an Inuit name meaning “sweet”
The name with the most votes will be revealed Feb. 5.
Polar bears have one of the lowest reproductive rates of any mammal, only about half of cubs surviving their first few weeks. The cub’s twin died shortly after it was born, said Tom Stalf, president and CEO of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
The remaining cub, born on Nov. 6, is not on public display and is being hand-reared by keepers at the zoo hospital’s intensive care unit after her mom, Aurora, began leaving the vulnerable cub for extended periods of time, Stalf said.
The cub weighed about one pound at birth and has grown to weigh nearly 14 pounds. She is now 20.5 inches from her nose to the tip of her tail and is currently learning how to walk, zoo officials said.