Help the Zoo Name the Panda Cub

Panda Cub
Photo | Brittany Steff, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

The Smithsonian National Zoo panda cub born Aug. 23 needs a name. Chinese tradition celebrates the name of a new life on the 100th day. The Zoo is asking anyone interested to cast their vote to choose the cub’s name. Visit the Smithsonian’s Name the Panda Cub webpage to cast your vote. The winning name will be announced Dec. 1.

Names and their meaning:

• Bao Bao (宝宝): Precious, treasure
• Ling Hua (玲花): Darling, delicate flower
• Long Yun (龙韵): Long is the Chinese symbol of the dragon; Yun means charming. Combined this represents a sign of luck for panda cooperation between China and the United States
• Mulan (木兰): Legendary young woman, a smart and brave Chinese warrior from the fifth century; also the name for the magnolia flower in China and the United States
• Zhen Bao (珍宝): Treasure, valuable

The five names were submitted by U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke and family, PRC Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai, National Zoo giant panda keepers, Wolong giant panda keepers (where she will move when she turns four years old) and the Friends of the National Zoo.

The new cub is part of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s ongoing dedication to giant pandas. Smithsonian scientists strive to understand the lives, ecology, and reproduction of these charismatic bears and ensure a healthy future for them and their mountain habitat.

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