Zoo begins elephant naming contest
PORTLAND, Ore. – Rose-Tu’s baby elephant needs a name, and you can help make the decision.
Oregon Zoo elephant keepers are asking the public to pick their favorite of five names for the week-old elephant calf:
- Jaidee (Thai for “good-hearted”) [pronounced JI-dee]
- Sirikit (name for Thai royalty, the literal meaning is “glorious”) [pronounced sear-ree-keet]
- Rakhi (Sanskrit for “love/bond between siblings”) [pronounced Rah-kee]
- Lily (following the flower theme of mom’s name, Rose-Tu, or Rose for short)
- Siddhi (Sanskrit for “perfection”; wife of Ganesha) [pronounced sid-Hee]
Voters can pick their favorite on the Oregon Zoo’s website.
Votes will be accepted through Sunday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. The zoo will announce the winning name on Monday, Dec. 10.
“The outpouring support for the zoo and its newest resident has been incredible,” said zoo director Kim Smith. “Rose-Tu and her calf are doing well. They’re bonding and comfortable with each other. Now it’s time to give the calf a name that suits her.”
Smith said all signs point to a strong bond between mother and baby.
“Our keepers and veterinary staff have put an extraordinary amount of work and care into helping Rose-Tu bring her baby into the world,” Smith said. “The time spent training and preparing has paid off, and the outcome is exactly the one we’d hoped for: Rose is safe and healthy, and she has a beautiful newborn calf. Now that the baby’s here, we’re all excited to watch her bond with Rose-Tu and take her place in the herd.”
Some of the comments on here show a lot of ignorance and bigotry. Such as name her something "we" can pronounce and complaints about "African names" when they are clearly Asian names! People need to broaden their horizons beyond what is under their own noses. Hey lets name it Mary. That should be easy to say!
 @Linda Wheeler Weigel yea-NO. Lily was the cutest of the names, at any rate. People don't want to have to google a pronunciation -- the newscasters were already dreading it, and joked about it.
Sirikit she can be called Siri for short!
Sanskrit? Really? A name that doesn't have to explained or need phonetics to pronounce would be nice... Â
 @Old29 broaden your horizons!
 @Old29 Exactly -- see my comment below :P
Why not Paquita? Â It's been 50 years since Packy was the first zoo-birthed Asian elephant anywhere in the world. Â That's worth commemorating!
Why build up interest when it's questionable whether or not the baby will be able to stay here in Oregon?
How 'bout we name it "Captive" or "Prisoner" or "DEW" for "Dead Elephant Walking?"
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The whole concept of a Zoo is outdated and cruel. Even at an early age, when my grandparents or parents took me to a zoo, I could not help but notice how depressed the animals looked. I never really enjoyed going, because I could not stop thinking about how cruel it is to keep animals confined like that for their entire lives, simply for the amusement of human beings. I can see how in the age before television, there might have been more value to human beings. But now that there are magazines and internet and television shows and all kinds of ways to see and learn about animals in the wild..why do we even need zoos any more? When I look at that baby elephant, I don't see how cute it is. I see how sick it is, that it will never know what it's like to run free..to be in the wild..to share the social aspects of being in a herd..sensing the tastes and the sounds and the feel of a jungle or a savanna. It will never be able to play in a lake or river or mud hole..the way elephants in the wild do. Sure, this little baby will never be subject to predators, or poachers or other threats, but given the trials and risks of every day life, how many of us would choose to live our lives in captivity? Please. Zoos? They should be abolished.
 @KillsGermsOnContact Zoos actually have an important role in preserving certain species.Â
@KillsGermsOnContact How about we free the animals & put the poachers who kill these animals in the wild for profit in the zoos instead?! There are animals that are endangered due to these poachers & the only way to protect them is keeping them in zoos. Tigers would be extinct because they're being killed for profit....as well as elephants for their ivory....and it goes on & on....
In light of recent developments and the zoo selling ownership, an appropriate name might be  "Law Suit"
Why bother, this elephant does not belong to the zoo anyway.. What a scam !
What is Sanskrit for "We sold our elephant to a circus"?
It needs to be Lily. Enough with the faux-bullšhit African-sounding names. If we sent them an elephant, I guarantee they wouldn't name it "Siddhi".
 @RyanTee82 your reply is pretty ignorant considering they are Asian names because she is an Asian elephant. Why do names have to be something YOU can pronounce?Â
 @Linda Wheeler Weigel Its Lily. Chew on that.
What happened to naming her Coco? It seemed very popular last week and would be a touching sentiment to the wonderful ape that passed on the day of her birth.
@MMRoach  Her name won't matter. She doesn't belong to the zoo. The zoo doesn't care.
@MMRoach I agree 100,000%! It would have been such a great name.
@pdxmom I don't care what stupid name they give her, Im always going to call her Coco!
What's all this about the baby elephant being sold to the circus?!? No, seriously, it was just on the 11 o'clock news. WFT??
@badcat I heard that this morning too, but as the day has progressed, I'm hearing that she will most likely stay right here. I sure hope so!!
This baby elephant is beautiful.....
Please name her Lily Rose - after her beautiful Mama!
Would someone pleeeeeeeeeeease tell me what the heck 90% of these posts have to do with naming a baby
elephant???!!!!! Let's stay with naming the baby, & STOP this other NONSENSE!!!
Lily is adorable.
Well, the comment forum on *this* topic has been well and truly hijacked. Thank you, all you trolls (and we all know that you all know we know who you are!)
For the record, I don't really care what name is chosen. That is one cute baby elephant! Congratulations to the happy parents!
Lily for sure!
Awww... she's so cute. Look how short her trunk is. I'm predicting Lilly as the top vote.
Not sure how to vote, but I'd like my vote to be included in tabulation, if possible.  Rhaki(sp).
 @Laury Schmitt Click on the link in the article or go to the zoo website that is where the voting is.
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I love that I went for dinner put my kids to bed and can still come back to wholesome crazy entertainment ! I swear the comments may just be the best part of katu some days.
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 @Chell  @Trainwife Here is how you do it, click that X at the top right corner of your browser, then walk away.
 @Chell  @Trainwife Too bad its not simple enough for you, but I hear it encourages laziness.
 @Chell I do not think you can cancel it once its started but if you click your name up top and go to edit you can set it so that you do not get emails any more.
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If we follow the "flower" theme, there is also Daisy! But, that's not an option, I guess.
Of these choices, I like Lily the best... Â
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Some of the other names are pretty, but I think people, especially little kids, would have trouble even knowing how to pronounce them... Lily is easy to pronounce and remember... and it "fits" her... :-)
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 @BrandNewHere pdxmom is that you?
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@badcat  Hey, thanks!  I can now check "become #1 internet troll for a day" off my bucket list. When it comes to ignorant people like her, I will never regret one single word I said, nor would I hide and delete all my comments.
Â
I anxiously await my certificate! :)Â
 @badcat Thanks but apparently I offended every single American in the Untited States of America according to her haha. Its not like I'm the first or the last to have ever said what I said. I am definitely never doing anything like this ever again nor have I ever haha. Its a waste of my time and not for me at all. Thank you for being a friend though! --Newbie OUT!
 @Chell You're doing no one a favor by deleting your posts. Stick around. But if you don't, have a very merry Christmas and please consider coming back under another moniker. ;-)
 @badcat Thank you. I'm 27 ; ) I Did everyone a favor and deleted my posts. (its actually hilarious if you look back at pdxmom talking to herself. Now just waiting to hear back from the KATU web team so I can delete my account. I don't want to be tagged or have my info on here. Not with that crazy B who told me to walk off a bridge! Sorry this was my first troll experience. I am more of a billy goat... trying to kick my way out of this!
 @pdxmom You do get the #1 troll award for the day, week, and month. Cheers to you, pdxmom! You took a stand on foreign baby elephant names, caught a newbie in your web, and spent the evening teaching her the "rules" of the forum. You even got a nod from fishbait! That's superior trolling. Bill & Jennifer should send you some sort of certificate that you could frame and hang next to the computer. Just out of curiosity, how old is your youngest? Forgive me, but I'm guessing he/she is in their early twenties. About the same age that I suspect Chell to be....
 @Chell How many times are you going to say you are leaving?  20?  30?  And awww, aren't you sweet?  You called me my favorite name.  When people call me that, I know I've won.  And to think, all I asked you to do was apologize to all the Americans you insulted.
 @badcat  @Chell Sirikit and Jaidee where my two faves ! I love that you have been to thai land wish there was a way to post pics to comments so you could show us your work !Â
 @Chell Just leave.  Period.Â
 @Chell Dig that -- pronounced "keet" of course. ;-)
 @Chell Nope, my problem is with you and you alone,
 @Chell Awesome. Have a great night, Chell -- peace!
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 @Chell I still like Sirikit. What was your choice? =)
 @Chell Sorry, darlin, I'm just the bartender here. Don't delete your account. I like you -- stick around. =)
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 @BrandNewHere  @JTesla  Word!
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 Agreed!
I know, right? Â Lol!