The San Diego Zoo asks public to name newborn sloth bear cubs

The San Diego Zoo is conducting a poll to determine the names of the two sloth bear cubs born at the Zoo in December.

The cubs, which were recently confirmed to be one male and one female, can be seen by park guests with their mother Shala in their habitat along Upper Center Street.

Those who would like to vote can choose between three name options per cub that were selected by the wildlife care staff.

The options and their meanings include:

Female cub:

• Nimala (nim-all-ah): Creative one
• Nimali (nim-all-ee): Independent one
• Shehani (sha-hahn-ee): Magic, shining, regal

Male cub:

• Kavi (kah-vee): Wise, a poet
• Rishi (rih-shee): Wisdom and profound knowledge
• Kumar (koo-mahr): Prince

Voting can be done online through noon PT on April 1 at http://sdzoo.com/sloth-bear-cubs.

The winning names will be announced on Wednesday, April 2.

(Image courtesy of sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/)