Zoo Atlanta to Conduct Online Poll to Name Panda Cub

ATLANTA – Zoo Atlanta is asking the public to help name its new giant panda cub.

The name of the 2-month-old female cub, the only panda born in a U.S. zoo this year, will be announced Dec. 15 at a traditional Chinese naming ceremony at the zoo.

Zoo officials said they will conduct an online poll through The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Dec. 1-10 to choose the name. The 10 names included in the poll will be chosen by the zoo, local media organizations and residents in the Sichuan Province of China, where the cub's parents were born.

All nominations will be in Chinese and will include the English translation.

Zoo officials said the panda weighs about 7 pounds (3.15 kilograms) and is about 21 inches (53 centimeters) long. She is pushing up on her front legs and lifting her head, both signs of healthy growth, zoo officials said.

She and her mother, Lun Lun, will remain in seclusion until December or January, or once the cub learns to walk. The father, Yang Yang, is being kept separate from the mother and baby, as is normal in the wild.

The 9-year-old Lun Lun gave birth Sept. 6 after a 35-hour labor. It's the fifth giant panda born at a U.S. zoo in the last six years.