Baby Panda Finally Gets a Name

Officials at the San Diego Zoo have chosen a name for a baby panda that was born over the summer.

Following Chinese tradition, the zoo waited 100 days to introduce the 15-week-old cub as Yun Zi, which means "son of cloud."

The name is fitting as his mom's name is Bai Yun, which means "white could."

Naming Yun Zi was a process that involved thousands.

More than 6,300 people worldwide submitted name suggestions. Those were narrowed down to the top five and then more than 17,000 voted in an online poll until the nameless cub finally became Yun Zi.

Zoo officials believe a webcam installed in the panda enclosure contributed to the enthusiasm toward the panda cub.

"People from all these other countries are writing in and talking about this little bear," Becky Hilburn, a contributor to the zoo's public-relations blog, told UPI . "Everybody kind of likes everybody, and there's no animosity."

"He's a very calm, very gentle soul," said panda handler Kathy Hawk.

Yun Zi is the fifth giant panda cub born to Bai Yun at the zoo, and the cubs are being recognized around the world.

The San Diego Zoo is the first zoo in the country to have a baby panda survive, and it’s the first zoo in the world to return a panda back to China that is now reproducing.

"In San Diego we have had more giant panda babies born than any zoo outside of China in the history of pandas," San Diego Zoo CEO Doug Myers said.

The pandas are about the size of a stick of butter when they are born. Yun Zi is now more than two feet tall and his handlers say he's doing just fine.

"He's still very dependent on his mother and will be nursing on her for up to 2 years of age," Hawk concluded.