Oh, Baby! Zoo holds naming contest for two jaguar cubs
There are two new babies on board in Wayne County, and while they look cute and adorable, they also have some huge claws!
This summer, a Wayne County zoo welcomed two baby jaguars into the world. Now, the zoo needs your help choosing names for the cubs.
A crowd at Claws ‘N’ Paws Wild Animal Park near Lake Ariel watched in awe as the zoo’s newest additions: two baby jaguars.
As if they were a celebrity, the puppies stole the attention when they went out to play. One group even treated them as if they were a group of celebrities.It sounds like a belated birthday song.
It was a welcome surprise for zoo visitors who weren’t expecting to see babies, but not as surprising as when zookeepers went to check on their two adult jaguars one June morning and found four animals instead of two. Beliza, 2, and Rio, 17, had become parents overnight.
“It was exciting,” said caregiver Carina Fabbricatore. “We weren’t quite sure if she was pregnant or not. It was Father’s Day, which was perfect for Rio, so it was very exciting.”
Now, the two newest members of the zoo family need names: one for a boy and one for a girl.
Claws ‘N’ Paws is holding a naming contest this week and has already received an overwhelming amount of responses.
“We had Baby and Johnny from Dirty Dancing. We had Mickey and Minnie and the typical, you know, Midnight, Shadow and Stormy,” Fabbricatore said.
Babies are still being nursed by their mother, so they stay with her for most of the day. The best chance to see them moving around is between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm, when their mother takes a break for the afternoon.
You have until Thursday, August 15 to submit your name ideas on the Claws ‘N’ Paws Facebook page.
Then the zookeepers will vote on their favorite and the winner will get free passes to the zoo and bragging rights, of course!
