Bai Yun’s Cub Is A “Little Gift”

/ Post by Pandas International

Chinese tradition dictates that panda cubs are not given a name until they are 100 days old.  That seemed like a long wait for the many fans of Bai Yuns most recent cub, born in July at the San Diego Zoo.

The zoo solicited input on the tiny cubs name from the public and sorted through over 7,000 names to reach their 6 finalists.  Those finalists were: Qi Ji, which means “miracle’”; Yu Di, which means “raindrop”; Da Hai, which means “big ocean” or “big sea”; Yong Er, which means “brave son”; and Shui Long, which means “water dragon.”

Through the zoo’s website, panda fans again got to cast their votes, 35,000 of them, for which of the names they liked most.

As of Tuesday morning, the public had spoken, and Xiao Liwu’s name was unveiled at the San Diego zoo and live streamed to thousands of viewers on the web.