Naming Ceremony Held for Atlanta Zoo's Newborn Panda Cubs

A naming ceremony was held for the two new panda cubs that joined the Atlanta Zoo family. As a way of celebrating their 100th day of life, they were given the names Ya Lun, which means elegant, and Xi Lun, which means happy.

According to a report from CNN, these two pandas were born September 3 of this year. Their names "Lun" is a way of celebrating their mother panda named Lun Lun. The two female cubs have been aptly named happy and elegant because they are supposed to be known as "Lun Lun's elegant and happy daughters."

As reported by ABC News, the zoo went through a painstaking process of creating an online voting platform to involve not only Atlanta locals but also people from anywhere in the world in naming the twins. A total of seven names were given by the panda conservation center in Chengdu. As they are now named, the two cubs are expected to make their first public appearance by the start of 2017.

Earlier this month, there had been reports that giant pandas are no longer considered as endangered species. And what better way to prove this than by the successful conception and birth of two cubs from a pair of pandas in Atlanta Zoo. According to the Atlanta Zoo website, there are currently seven adult pandas in the zoo, plus the new cubs.

What is interesting is that the pair of pandas, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, in Atlanta Zoo has given birth to most of their panda residents. Their first offspring was Mei Lan born in 2006. He was followed by Xi Lan, born in 2008, but it was returned to China in 2014. Their third offspring were twins Mei Lun and Mei Huan, two female cubs born in 2013.