The Akron Zoo is holding a contest to name three snow leopard cubs born last month.
The contest, sponsored by Akron Children’s Hospital, began this week and runs through May 16.
People can submit names by emailing cubs@akronzoo.org.
The zoo will narrow the suggestions to six possibilities. The cubs, which will go on display in early June, and their mother, Shanti, will then help pick the winning names.
The self-guided, name-picking process will be similar to how penguin chicks have been named in the past. Typically the newborns, once able to waddle into the limelight, race to several laminated paper fish, each with a name on it. The chicks are named after the first fish they peck. Zoo staff are thinking about using balls or boxes, which the cubs could pounce on or paw.
The people who submit the winning names will receive free admission to the zoo and a snow leopard prize pack.
“The birth of these cubs is extremely significant to the preservation of this endangered species and this naming contest presents a rare and unique opportunity to be a part of their lives,” Akron Zoo President and CEO Doug Piekarz said in a prepared statement.
The cubs — a female and two males — are 7 weeks old and weigh about 7 pounds.
The cubs, under the supervision of their mother, are becoming more adventurous and have begun playing and climbing, the zoo said. Male snow leopards do not participate in cub rearing, so the cubs’ father, Roscoe, is in his exhibit daily until the cubs make their debut.
There are 153 snow leopards in the Species Survival Plan in the U.S. and there are believed to be as few as 4,000 left in the wild, the zoo said.