PRESS RELEASE For immediate release | March 28, 2013 Media contact: Gigi Allianic, Caileigh Robertson 206.548.2550 | woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org
Community members name Woodland Park Zoo’s lion cubs
SEATTLE -- More than 2,000 community members weighed in to name two of Woodland Park Zoo’s quadruplet lion cubs. The two pint-sized felines received name suggestions from zoo fans across the state during the zoo’s three-week “Name the Cubs” contest.
Woodland Park Zoo invited Washington state residents to submit names from the Zulu and Sotho languages, native to a part of the lions’ South African origin, for two of the four lion cubs through a contest running February 21-March 15. A panel from the zoo’s animal management staff reviewed all eligible entries. Following great deliberation, the winning names for the male-female pair are Rudo (“love” in Zulu, pronounced ROO-doh) and Busela (“happy and independent” in Zulu, pronounced BOO-sayla), respectively.
The other male and female cubs, Pelo (“heart” in Sotho, pronounced PEE-lo) and Nobuhle (“the beautiful one” in Zulu, pronounced no-BOO-sche) were named internally.
Two lucky winners—Tate and Ross MacDonald of Seattle and Pamela Garland of Olympia— are taking home the grand prizes: a private viewing for five at the lion exhibit with a keeper, one-year annual Woodland Park Zoo family membership, a ZooParent lion cub adoption, a framed photograph of the newly-named lion cub, and a $100 gift card to Play It Again Sports, Seattle. Visit zoo.org/namethecubs to view the two winning names and the two prize winners.
“Since the cubs’ birth, community support has been remarkable. We’ve had hundreds of excited zoo guests visit the lions each day since their debut, and we continue to receive positive stories and great cub photos from their experiences,” said Martin Ramirez, a mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo. “We’re thrilled community members joined us in naming the cubs and we’re grateful the Seattle community continues to play such an active role at the zoo.”
Rudo, Busela, Pelo and Nobuhle debuted with mother, Adia, on February 16. Zoo visitors have a chance to meet the four cubs up close and enjoy their curious, spunky personalities 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. daily in the award-winning African Savanna, weather permitting.
The African lion is the only big cat not protected under the Endangered Species Act. As few as 32,000 African lions are estimated to remain in the wild and their future remains uncertain, particularly as the growth in human population continues to impact lion populations. Through the zoo’s Wildlife Survival Fund, Woodland Park Zoo supports the Ruaha Carnivore Project through the Lion Species Survival Plan Conservation Campaign. The project works in Tanzania to mitigate human conflict with lions and other large carnivores that share the Ruaha landscape, while collecting baseline data on lion populations to help shape lion and large carnivore conservation. To learn more about the zoo’s collaboration with the Ruaha Carnivore Project, visit zoo.org/wsf#lion.
For more information or to become a zoo member, visit zoo.org or call 206.548.2500 or 548.2599 (TTY).
Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting international standards for zoos in animal care, conservation and education programs. Woodland Park Zoo is helping to save animals and their habitats in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. By inspiring people to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future. For more information, visit www.zoo.org ###