Cub fans everywhere will recognize the names of the newest cubs in town—the baby red pandas at Lincoln Park Zoo, who have officially been named Clark and Addison.
The cubs, born June 26, were named to honor the North Side baseball team by Sharon Zackfia, a zoo supporter, according to a statement from the zoo on Friday.
Addison is the female cub and Clark her brother. They remain behind the scenes in the zoo’s Kovlar Lion House.
“As a longtime lover of red pandas, I could not be more excited to have the honor of naming Lincoln Park Zoo’s first-ever red panda cubs,” Zackfia said in the statement. “I am so proud to be a supporter of an institution that has brought so much joy and knowledge to the families of Chicago.”
Zookeepers and veterinarians are closely monitoring Leafa, the Cubs’ mother, who will remain in an off-exhibit den for several more months as the cubs grow, according to the zoo. Phoenix, the father, remains in the public viewing area.
The genders of the first-ever red panda cubs born at the Lincoln Park Zoo were revealed after their first physical examinations last week, the North Side zoo announced Monday.
The cubs were born June 26 to 5-year-old mother Leafa at the Kovler Lion House, where the red panda den is located.
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“The cubs appear healthy and continue to grow,” general curator Dave Bernier said.
Weighing about a half-pound each at birth, they are covered in pale yellow fur, but will turn red as the grow.
Red pandas look more like raccoons, but are actually not related to raccoons or the better-known giant pandas. They are native to the Himalayan mountains, where they are considered “vulnerable” due to habitat loss and poaching.
