BUFFALO, N.Y. — They were born nearly three months ago, and now that their gender has been revealed it's time to name those lion cubs.
A boy and girl were born to mom Lusaka, and dad Tiberius on March 7.
Animal care staff at the zoo have selected three names for each for the public to vote on.
For the girl:
1. Dahlia meaning “gentle” in Swahili.
2. Zahra meaning “flower” in Swahili.
3. Zawadi meaning “gift” in Swahili.
For the boy:
1. Augustus is the middle name of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius.
2. Khari meaning “king” like in Swahili.
3. Neo meaning “gift” in Swahili.
You can cast your vote at buffalozoo.org. Each vote will cost $1 and you can cast as many votes as you like. Proceeds will benefit the Buffalo Zoo and the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Lion SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Program to aid in African lion conservation efforts.
Over the past 25 years, the lion population in Africa has been nearly cut in half. Organizations like the AZA are working to reach their goal of doubling the number of lions in the wild.
The winning names will be revealed sometime next week when the cubs are scheduled to make their public debut.