SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The San Diego Zoo announced on Wednesday the results of a public poll that determines the names of two sloth bear cubs that were born back in December.
While asking animal enthusiasts to help name the bears, officials with the zoo gave the following options: Nimala, Nim
ali or Shehani for the female cub, and Kavi, Rishi or Kumar for the male cub.
The two bear cubs were born on Dec. 6, 2024, to mom Shala. Recent zoo visitors may have seen the first-time mom carrying the cubs on her back as sloth bears are the only bears that do so. Sloth bear cubs stay with their mother until they are 1.5 to 2.5 years old.
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Now around four months old, the two sloth bear cubs have officially been named. According to the results of the poll, the female cub will be called Shehani (sha-hahn-ee), which means magic, shining and regal. As for the male cub, voters selected the name Kumar (koo-mahr), which means prince.
Sloth bears are a vulnerable species due to habitat destruction and poaching, zoo officials explained. The species of bear can be found in hot, dry grasslands and forests of South Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance partners with India’s Wildlife SOS Sloth bear rescue facility on conservation efforts, research and education.
In case you were wondering, these bears are not related to sloths. They were called sloth bears by European zoologist, George Shaw, who named them for their long, thick claws and unusual teeth. He thought that the bear was related to the tree sloth due to these features.
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