WASHINGTON – They are cute as pups — maned wolf pups, that is. And they need names.
The National Zoo for the first time is turning to Facebook users to help name the duo, one male pup and one female pup. The pups are part of the first maned wolf litter born at the zoo’s Front Royal, Va., facility in early January.
Through March 30, people can vote for their favorite names. Staff at the zoo suggested four names for each of the pups.
Here are the names for the male pup:
- Canastra (Brazilian region that is part of maned wolf habitat)
- Cerrado (Brazilian region that is part of maned wolf habitat)
- Rocko (nickname of maned wolf researcher’s father)
- Timido (Portuguese for “coy”).
Here are the names for the female pups:
- Bela (Portuguese for “beautiful”)
- Estrella (Portuguese for “star”)
- Pinga (Portuguese slang for a national drink)
- Terra (Portuguese for “earth”).
After the voting, the zoo will announce the winning names on its Facebook page Friday.
The pups will help researchers learn how to maintain a self-sustaining population of maned wolves in human care.
There are about 20,000 maned wolves in the wild in central South America.
Read more on their birth and see more photos on the National Zoo’s website.
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