Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Naming contest for Seneca Park Zoo's snow leopard cub

The Seneca Park Zoo's snow leopard cub.
Monroe County/Seneca Park Zoo/YouTube
The Seneca Park Zoo's snow leopard cub.

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and the Seneca Park Zoo on Saturday launched a naming contest for the zoo’s 8-week-old snow leopard cub.

Bello also unveiled ‘Cub Cam’, a 24/7 online camera from the snow leopard cub’s den. ‘Cub Cam’ can be accessed by visiting the Seneca Park Zoo website.

“Our little guy is doing great and showing a lot of improvement, but we need your help naming him. As we celebrate Monroe County’s bicentennial, let’s find a name that is reflective of the rich history of our community,” Bello said.

The snow leopard cub has been hand-raised by Seneca Park Zoo veterinarian Dr. Louis DiVincenti and the zoo staff since birth. Zoo officials indicated in Apriljust after the cub’s birth that they needed to intervene since it appeared the cub’s mother was not caring for the animal.

This is snow leopard Timila’s second litter at Seneca Park Zoo with 10-year-old male Kaba, as a result of a breeding recommendation from the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan. Snow leopards are listed as vulnerable on a list of threatened species.

Monroe County residents are invited to submit name ideas to NameTheCub@monroecounty.gov using the subject line “Name our Snow Leopard Cub”. Visitors of the Seneca Park Zoo can also turn in name submissions at the upper level viewing area of the snow leopard exhibit. 

Submissions for the first round of the contest will be accepted through June 26. From there, the five most popular submissions will be voted on by the public at the Seneca Park Zoo’s website or in person at the snow leopard exhibit.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.