Advertisement

5 shortlisted names for baby panda at River Wonders, public invited to vote

Staff Writer
·Editorial team
·2-min read
The panda cub born to the River Safari's giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia was revealed to be a male during Kai Kai's 14th birthday celebrations. (PHOTO: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)
The panda cub born to the River Safari's giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia was revealed to be a male during Kai Kai's 14th birthday celebrations. (PHOTO: Mandai Wildlife Group)

SINGAPORE — Five names have been shortlisted for the baby panda born at the River Wonders to mother Jia Jia and father Kai Kai on 14 August.

The 81-day-old male panda has grown to about 4kg under the care of Mandai Wildlife Group, and the tradition is to name the panda within the first 100 days of its birth.

Mandai Wildlife Group had invited the public to submit suggestions for the panda's name, and it has narrowed the shortlist down to these five names for the public to vote:

  • Hong Hong (宏宏): Hong (宏) means magnificence (宏伟/宏大) in Mandarin, signifying well-wishes for the panda cub to grow up magnificent and healthy.

  • Le Le (叻叻): Le (叻) comes from the old Chinese term for Singapore, "Shi Le Po" (石叻坡).

  • Xin Le (新乐): Xin Le means new joy and can also mean Singapore’s joy.

  • Xin Yang (新阳): Xin Yang means Singapore Sun or new Sun, which symbolises the brightness and joy this birth brings. The panda was also born in the morning.

  • Xin Yuan (新缘): Xin (新) refers to Singapore, while Yuan (缘) means affinity/fate. Yuan also sounds like (圆) which means fulfilment. The cub was born after fate brought Kai Kai and Jia Jia together in Singapore.

A judging panel - chaired by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who is also deputy chairman of Mandai Park Holdings - will oversee the name process. The panel will include representatives from academia, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, relevant government agencies and Mandai Wildlife Group.

Votes are now open for the public to choose their favourite name and will end on 7 November at 11:59pm.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore