At last, a name for zoo’s cutie pie
Hudson the winner of online contest
After a rocky start, the Toronto Zoo’s newest polar bear has been formally named by supporters of the zoo and the Wildlife Care program that saved his life.
More than 40,000 participants in a web contest voted online to name the male cub Hudson, winning over other suggested names Polaris, Klondike, Snowball and Boreas. Names were suggested on the zoo’s Facebook page and then visitors to the site could vote for one of the top five names.
In keeping with the Arcticthemed names of the other bears, “the name Hudson was submitted by literally thousands of people,” said zoo spokesperson Kim Haider. She said it likely refers to explorer Henry Hudson or Hudson Bay.
There are now four polar bears at the Toronto Zoo: Hudson’s mother Aurora and father Inukshuk, Auro- ra’s sister Nikita, and Hudson himself, who was one of three born last October. Aurora rejected her cubs, a phenomenon not unheard of in the wild, when they were born two months premature. Only Hudson survived. Weighing just 25 ounces at birth, the cub’s fragile progress captured media attention. As of Saturday, he weighed more than 70 pounds, nursed back to health by staff working in the zoo’s Wildlife Health Centre. Hudson could one day reach 1,300 pounds. He was moved into his exhibit on Feb. 3.
“Hudson is a healthy, energetic and playful polar bear cub,” Haider said. “He loves playing with his toys, swimming in his pool and has a healthy appetite.”
There are no plans to reunite Hudson with his mother.