Community Corner

Vote for Your Favorite Panda Twin Names

Five sets of Chinese names and meanings have been selected by Zoo Atlanta colleagues at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.

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GRANT PARK — Here's one election that's likely to be anything but partisan: The naming of Zoo Atlanta's panda twins.

Voting began online this week through a partnership Zoo Atlanta has with Good Morning America on Oct. 9 and continues until 11:59 p.m. Oct. 20. (You can vote here at this link.)

Five sets of Chinese names and meanings have been selected by Zoo Atlanta colleagues at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China:
  • Mei Lun (may loon) and Mei Hua (may hwaa), meaning “Lun Lun’s twin cubs born in the U.S.”
  • Mei Lun (may loon) and Mei Huan (may hwaan), originating from a Chinese idiom that also means “something indescribably beautiful and magnificent”
  • Tian Lun (tee-an loon) and Tian Le (tee-an luh), a modified version of another Chinese idiom meaning “joy of family life” or “family happiness”
  • Lan Tian (lan tee-an) and Bi Shui (bee shway), meaning “blue sky and clear water”
  • Da Lan (dah lan) and Xiao Lan (sheow lan), meaning “bigger one (a reference to the larger Cub B) and smaller one (Cub A) of Atlanta-born twins”

    “We in Atlanta and Georgia are fortunate stewards of these amazing animals, which are entrusted to our care on loan from China, but there are people around the world who feel a personal stake in their lives,” Raymond B. King, Zoo Atlanta's president and CEO, said in a statement. “Giant pandas have a unique capacity to carry a conservation message, and engaging and uniting their many fans is one way we have of letting that message resonate even more powerfully.”

The winning set of names will be revealed during the cubs’ 100 Day Celebration on Oct. 23, 2013. 

The panda twins themselves have not yet made their public debut and aren't expected to do so until late fall. In the meantime, you can follow them on PandaCam presented by EarthCam on www.zooatlanta.org/pandacam.

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