Toronto's panda cubs are in need of names, and the zoo is letting the public choose from a list.
The Toronto Zoo revealed Friday that the four-month-old giant pandas are a male and a female. In honour of Chinese New Year, the zoo announced its plan to name the cubs on Monday.
The zoo revealed a list of seven pairs of names for the public to vote on, in a poll that runs until Sunday, Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m.
The public can vote on the following names:
- Jia Bao (Canadian Treasure) and Duo Bao (Toronto Treasure)
- DuoDuo (Toronto) and Jia Jia (Canada)
- Jia Pengyou (Canadian Friend) and Duo Pengyou (Toronto Friend)
- Jia Panpan (Canadian Hope) and Jia Yueyue (Canadian Joy)
- Jia Renjian and Jia Ren'ai (originating from a Chinese idiom that means "When Canadians see them, Canadians will love them.")
- Jia Baobao and Jia Beibei (originating from a Chinese idiom that means "Two Canadian treasures.")
- Jia Huabao and Jia Huabei (originating from a Chinese idiom that means "Two Canadian and Chinese treasures.")
A pronunciation guide is available on the website where votes can be cast.
The zoo will announce the winning set of names on Monday, March 7, and plans to introduce the cubs to the public later that month.
The proposed names came from a naming committee made up of representatives from the city's Chinese-Canadian community and zoo staff. Feedback was also provided by an English/Chinese translator, and representatives from the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Chongqing Zoo, where the pandas' mother came from.
The cubs were born at the zoo on Oct. 13, 2015, to a female panda on loan from China to Canada for 10 years.
The small bears, along with their mother and another male adult panda, are slated to move to the Calgary Zoo in 2018, where they will remain for five years.
