By KATE BRUMBACK
FILE – In this July 29, 2013 file photo provided by Zoo Atlanta, twin newborn giant panda cubs lie in a blanket at Zoo Atlanta.Atlanta’s zoo on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 revealed five sets of possible names for the twin giant panda cubs born there in July, and it is giving the public a chance to have a say by voting online. The names were selected by staff at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. The winning names will be announced at a naming celebration Oct. 23 when the panda cubs are 100 days old, in accordance with Chinese tradition. (AP Photo/Zoo Atlanta, File)
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s zoo on Thursday revealed five sets of possible names for the twin giant panda cubs born there in July, and it is giving the public a chance to have a say by voting online.
The possible names for the two male cubs are:
— Mei Lun (may loon) and Mei Hua (may hwaa), meaning “Lun Lun’s twin cubs born in the U.S.;”
— Mei Lun (may loon) and Mei Huan (may hwaan), which originates from a Chinese idiom that means “something indescribably beautiful and magnificent;”
— Tian Lun (tee-an loon) and Tian Le (tee-an luh), a modification of a Chinese idiom meaning “joy of family life” or “family happiness;”
— Lan Tian (lan tee-an) and Bi Shui (bee shway), meaning “blue sky and clear water;” and
— Da Lan (dah lan) and Xiao Lan (sheow lan) meaning “bigger one and smaller one of Atlanta-born twins.”
The names were selected by the staff at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. Under a deal between China and the U.S., all giant pandas originally from China are only lent out to foreign zoos for scientific study for several years. They and any cubs they produce must all return to China eventually.
The winning names will be announced at a naming celebration Oct. 23 when the panda cubs are 100 days old, in accordance with Chinese tradition.
Voting for the names will begin online next Wednesday through the website for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The cubs were born to 15-year-old Lun Lun, who was artificially inseminated in March. They are the fourth and fifth cubs born at Zoo Atlanta to Lun Lun and her partner Yang Yang.
The cubs are in good health and weigh appropriate amounts for their age, said giant panda nursery keeper Amy Allagnon. They are slowly gaining more eyesight and hearing and can scoot around but can’t yet crawl or stand up on all four legs yet, she said.
