Visit www.detroitzoo.org to Cast Your Vote

ROYAL OAK, Mich., September 15, 2009 – Aloke and Alina would be perfect names for the Detroit Zoo’s baby lemurs, according to a group of senior citizens who responded to a public invitation to help name the twins born June 2.  The Zoo received more than 1,600 name suggestions and has narrowed the list to five pairs. 

In addition to Aloke and Alina, the male and female contenders for the twin kin are Mahery and Akisa, Noro and Tia, Zoky and Fanja and Anando and Alika.  The community has until midnight September 29, 2009, to vote for their favorite names by visiting www.detroitzoo.org and clicking on the lemur banner on the home page.

Because black-and-white ruffed lemurs are native to Madagascar, people were encouraged to consider those Malagasy origins when submitting name ideas.  Five senior residents from the Sanctuary at Bellbrook in Rochester Hills, Mich., discovered that another name for lemur is “shadow of the night”.  Thus, the seniors proposed the Malagasy names Aloke, or “shadow”, for the male and Alina, meaning “night”, for the female.

As for the other semi-final Malagasy contenders,  Mahery means “strong” and Akisa means “pretty” or “playful”.  Noro translates to “joy” and Tia is “to love”.  Zoky and Fanja mean “older sibling” and “flower”.  While not Malagasy but still appealing, Anando means “bliss” in Hindi and Alika is of Nigerian origin for “most beautiful”.

Some of the more popular name suggestions were King Julian and Queen Juliana after the lemurs featured in the Disney movie “Madagascar”, Peek and Boo, inspired by the lemurs’ large golden eyes, and variations of Maddie and Gascar as a nod to the lemurs’ native land.

Names were submitted online and through the mail and narrowed to the five pairs by a panel of Zoo staffers.  The pair that receives the most votes in the Zoo’s online poll will be announced September 30. 

The Detroit Zoo’s baby lemurs can be seen with parents Fleur and Goodall in their outdoor habitat between the snow monkeys and white rhinos.  

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 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through Labor Day (with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. day after Labor Day through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11 for adults 15 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 14; 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.  Admission is free.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
###