The panda fans have voted. The giant panda twins at Zoo Atlanta finally have names.
Now Cub A is officially Ya Lun (pronounced “yah-loon”) and Cub B is Xi Lun (pronounced “shee-loon”).
The names were revealed at the twins’ 100-day naming celebration Monday at Zoo Atlanta. Ya means “elegant,” and Xi means “happy.” “Lun” is a reference to their mother, Lun Lun. Together, the monikers mean “Lun Lun’s elegant and happy daughters.”
The winning names were chosen from a list of seven sets of names supplied by the zoo’s conservation partners in Chengdu, China. The names earned just over 11,000 of the more than 23,400 votes cast by panda fans around the world.
The cubs were born Sept. 3, and are the second set of twins born to mother Lun Lun and father Yang Yang.
You can see a video from their first 100 days here.
The cubs (the country's only giant panda twins), who are still too young to walk, were not present to meet their fans, but are expected to make their public debut in late December or sometime early in 2017. Check the PandaCam at zooatlanta.org/pandacam.
About the Author
