Cub’s Name to be Announced at Public Ceremony Nov. 13
2012-11-08 — /travelprnews.com/ — Keeper Liz Simmons carries out the San Diego Zoo’s youngest giant panda this morning for his weekly exam. Veterinary staff took all the usual weights and measurement and the cub continues to get bigger and heavier.
The male panda weighed 9.2 pounds and is more than 23 inches long from nose to tail. During his 12th exam, the cub wiggled and tried to crawl despite the staff’s best efforts to hold him still to try to get accurate measurements.
The cub is now 100 days old and will be receiving his name on Nov. 13 during a public ceremony at the Zoo. The event will take place at 10 a.m. inside the Hunte Amphitheater. The naming ceremony is open to the public and is free with Zoo admission. Attendees will hear from Rick Gulley, president of the San Diego Zoo, as well as Ron Swaisgood, Ph.D., who is co-head of the Giant Panda Team for San Diego Zoo Global. Representatives from the Chinese consulate will also participate in the ceremony.
For those who are not able to attend the ceremony, it will be broadcast live via UStream on the San Diego Zoo’s website, http://www.ustream.tv/sandiegozoo
The San Diego Zoo follows the Chinese cultural tradition of naming the giant panda after it is 100 days old. The Zoo gave the public the opportunity to select the cub’s name in a two-part process. The Zoo took open suggestions for names and received more than 7,000 submissions. Those submissions were narrowed down to six names and the public was allowed to vote on a name for the cub. Nearly 35,000 votes were cast for the cub’s name.
CONTACT: SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL
PUBLIC RELATIONS
619-685-3291
WEBSITE: www.sandiegozoo.org
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Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo
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