ASHEBORO, N.C. (WFMY) – There’s a new member of the North Carolina Zoo family.
Well… sort of!
The NC Zoo adopted a wild polar bear through Polar Bears International (PBI) to help conserve wild polar bears and their threatened Arctic environment.
The wild, female polar bear lives with her two cubs in the Western Hudson Bay area of Canada.
You can help pick the polar bear’s name by voting on the NC Zoo’s website. Here are the options;
Yura – Inuit for ‘one who is beautiful’
Sakari – Native American for “sweet’
Carolina – for our home state
Tapeesa – Inuit for ‘Arctic flower’
Hope – for hope for the polar bears’ future
The NC Zoo says the names were chosen by zookeepers and are a collection of Inuit and Native American names and North Carolina themes.
Voting opened at Noon November 14 and closes November 19 at 4 p.m. on the Zoo’s website and social media pages, all for free!
The winning name will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 20.
Even if your favorite name isn’t the winner, there’s another way you can get involved: follow the polar bear and her cubs’ trail through PBI’s free Polar Bear Tracker.
The North Carolina Zoo’s bear is Polar Bear ID X33805.
According to the North Carolina Zoo, it’s served as an official Arctic Ambassador Center for PBI since 2009 and is among an elite group of 40 zoos, aquariums and museums partners.
The North Carolina Zoo is home to two polar bears, female Anana and male Nikita.
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