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Columbus Zoo Wants You To Help Name Its Polar Bear Cub

A polar bear cub by any other name is just as cute - though the Columbus Zoo is still hoping for a worthy one for its five-month-old polar bear cub.

The zoo is letting people vote on one of four names for the female cub, who went on display Wednesday with her mother, a bear named Anana. 

"This lively cub weighs approximately 60 pounds and enjoys exploring, rolling in dirt, swimming, playing with her mom, and napping so she can get a second round of energy!" the Zoo announced. "One of her distinguishing features also is a small gray patch of fur located on the left side of her neck."

Potential names for the cub are Amelia Gray (Amelia meaning "defender"), Denali (the highest mountain peak in the Alaska Range), Elisapee (a Native Alaskan name), and Vieta (meaning "spot").

This way, the zoo can avoid a potential Polarbear McPolarbearface situation. 

Anana and her sister, Aurora, each gave birth to twins last November, fathered by a bear named Nanuq. Anana's other cub died, though both of Aurora's cubs, a still-unnamed male and female, survived.

Those two will make their public debut as well, though the cubs will rotate their time on display.

Credit Columbus Zoo
The unnamed cub, which was born in November 2016, now weighs 60 pounds.

The three bears were the only captive cubs born in the country last year, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Experts estimate only 20,000-25,000 polar bears remain in their native range, the Zoo says, and climate change means that two-thirds of their population could vanish by 2050.

Voting ends May 2 and the winning name will be announced May 14.

In the meantime, here's a video of the cub playing around with its mother.

-hVE

Gabe Rosenberg joined WOSU in October 2016. As digital news editor, Gabe reports breaking news and edits all content for the WOSU website, as well as manages the station's social media accounts.
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