Japan Has a New Baby Giant Panda — and They Want You to Help Name It
Baby pandas might just be the cutest thing in the world. And no matter how many times we watch that hilarious video of the baby panda sneezing and scaring the heck out of its mama, panda lovers know we’ll never be able to have one of our own.
However, a wildlife park in Japan is offering one lucky person the next best thing: the chance to name a newborn giant panda.
Born on August 14, the female giant panda is the 16th black and white bundle of joy to be born at Wakayama, Japan’s Adventure World wildlife park. Though she’s giant in species, this little panda weighed a miniscule 2.64 ounces at birth. According to National Geographic, newborn pandas usually weigh around 5 ounces and don’t start crawling until they’re three months old.
To submit a name for the baby panda, people are asked to apply online or mail in a postcard. To be considered, entries must include the name, the phonetic spelling, and a brief description of the thoughts behind the name. Entries are due by November 16 and the winner will be announced at the park and online soon after.
Though names are being accepted from around the world, meeting the cubs parents might provide some inspiration. Eimei, the father, was born in 1992 at the Beijing Zoo and Rauhin, the mother, was born at the park in 2000. Together, they have created a beautiful panda family, including six female pandas and two males.
We’d highly recommend booking a trip to visit this little cub before she gets too big. If Japan is too far, Adventure Park offers a live webstream of the pandas throughout the week. Even better, people with a virtual reality headset can watch the pandas live in a fully VR experience.
