Visit www.detroitzoo.org to Cast Your Vote

ROYAL OAK, Mich., February 14, 2008 – “Zahara the zebra” has a nice ring according to several people who responded to the Detroit Zoo’s invitation to help name its female Grevy’s zebra foal born December 26.  The Zoo received over 2,000 name suggestions and has narrowed the field to five.  The other contenders are Bella, Chloe, Holly and Noel.  The community has until February 29 to visit the Zoo’s Web site at www.detroitzoo.org to vote for their favorite name. 

What’s in a name?  Zahara is Arabic for “flower.”  Noel and Holly are references to the foal’s birth the day after Christmas.  Chloe means “blooming” in Greek, and Bella is Italian for “beautiful.”

The foal’s black-and-white striped hide inspired submissions such as Barcode, Oreo, Ref and, of course, Stripes.  Many who had their thinking caps on inside out suggested Arbez, which is zebra spelled backwards.  Others proposed Jules in honor of Jules Grevy, former president of the French Republic after whom the species is named. 

Name suggestions for the zebra foal were submitted online, and a panel of Detroit Zoo staffers culled the list to their top five favorites.  The name that receives the most votes in the Zoo’s online poll will be announced next month.

The foal is the daughter of 15-year old Elvira and 6-year old ZZ.  She currently is kept indoors at the zebra habitat most days due to cold weather, but can be seen outdoors near her mother on milder days.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October.  Admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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