Smithsonian's Panda Cub is Ready to Receive His Name

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: November 17, 2020 9:59 pm

The panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

Photo Credit: Smithsonian's National Zoo

The adorable giant panda cub we have been following at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is about to receive his name and you can help choose it.

Panda keepers at the zoo and their Chinese colleagues have selected four names which they think would suit the cub. You can vote on the names for the cub on the zoo’s website from November 16th till November 20th. Go here to cast your vote – Giant Panda Cub Naming Vote

The panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

Photo Credit: Smithsonian's National Zoo

The names which have been selected reflect the extraordinary circumstances around the cub’s birth and the collaboration for conservation which led to the birth. The list of options and their meanings are below.

Fu Zai (福仔) [fu-tzai]—prosperous boy

Xiao Qi ji (小奇迹) [shiau-chi-ji]—little miracle

Xing Fu (幸福) [shing-fu]—happy and prosperous

Zai Zai (仔仔) [tzai-tzai]—a traditional Chinese nickname for a boy

The panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

Photo Credit: Smithsonian's National Zoo

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The panda cub’s birth was livestreamed on the zoo’s website and since his birth he has been seen on the panda cam by over 1 million viewers. You can watch him here – Panda Cam | Smithsonian’s National Zoo

It is not currently possible to see the cub in person as the panda house at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat is closed to provide quiet for mom and her cub.

Mum, Mei Xiang was the oldest giant panda in the United States to give birth. The father of the cub is Tian Tian. Keepers performed an artificial insemination procedure in March this year which led to the birth.

This is Mei Xiang’s fourth cub. Like all giant panda cubs born outside of China the rest returned to China at four years old. These returns are part of the Zoo’s cooperative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.