Voters pick 'Lily' in elephant naming contest
PORTLAND, Ore. – Rose-Tu’s baby elephant finally has a name.
The Oregon Zoo announced Monday that “Lily” received the most votes in the online contest to name the 10-day-old baby.
The other choices in the naming contest were:
- Jaidee, Thai for "good-hearted"
- Sirikit, a name for Thai royalty meaning "glorious"
- Rakhi, Sanskrit for "love between siblings"
- Siddhi, Sanskrit for "perfection"
Lily was the overwhelming favorite among voters, the zoo announced. Of the 50,764 votes submitted by Sunday afternoon, Lily received 30,037, which is nearly 60 percent.
"The outpouring support for the zoo and its newest resident has been incredible," said zoo director Kim Smith. "This community is definitely inspired by Rose-Tu's new calf."
Jaidee was the runner-up with about 21 percent of the vote. Rakhi finished third with a little more than seven percent. Siddhi had about 6.5 percent and Sirikit had six percent.
Smith said Rose-Tu and Lily are developing a strong bond. Lily met her big brother Samudra earlier this month.
"This calf is definitely not shy," said zoo elephant curator Bob Lee. "When she and Samudra first met, she rushed up to him to touch trunks. Mom had to hold her back a little. She also made a big impression on her auntie Shine."
Lily was born Nov. 30 at 2:17 a.m. Zoo officials said she weighed 300 pounds at birth.
Lily has been the subject of controversy after zoo officials acknowledged she was owned by a California company that rents out elephants for entertainment purposes and has been accused of mistreatment by animal rights groups.
However, the owners of Have Trunk Will Travel released a statement that said Lily will remain at the Oregon Zoo.
It's unclear when the public will be able to visit Lily.
Read more: Oregon Zoo baby elephant blog
I don't know who it was, but someone here suggested "Tulip."
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I thought that was perfect!
I'm glad people chose a regular name. Who comes up with all these weird name choices? Why does an elephant need a name at all? Does an elephant come when you call its name?
Ah, the look on her face! "Why did they name me Lily? I'm an elephant, not a funeral flower!"
Seeing as I voted for Lily and my Mother was named Lillian and called Lily quite often when she was still here, I am thrilled with the name choice. With a mother named Rose, Lily is a fitting name. :)
I was an early voter for 'Lily' having been a person that has been going to that zoo since the 50's - all the animals in the zoo are still jumping up-and-down for you!!!
..And introducing Miss Lily.Â
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While not really a big fan of the zoo, this little lady is a cutie.
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300lbs at birth, it makes my 11lb 11oz daughter seem like a rose petal.
 @Quaoptician Your daughter will LOVE the zoo.  Both my granddaughters go all the time.  The family has a zoo pass.
Awesome! I think if she couldn't be named after Coco, then Lily is the next best thing. YAY!Â
@pdxmom I really liked COCO. But if not, I really liked the name banana, as a tribute to Coco.
I liked Coco-Tu, but it was't on their list... Â but Lily was my 2nd choice... Â it kind of fits this little elephant... I'm just glad they decided... Â :-)
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Just hope that HTWT lives up to their statement that Lily will stay at the Oregon Zoo...!
@margay1 I also liked the name Deborah Tu.
Thank goodness it is an ENGLISH name that you dont have to google all the time to know what it means
 @Oh My I'm glad they went with an English name, too. The faux-African fad crap is getting tired. If we sent them an elephant, I guarantee they wouldn't name it "Rikhi". Besides, Lily was a cuter name, anyway.
@Oh My By "google all the time" does that mean you couldn't remember it the first time you googled it? It's a name, do you normally go around googling names... like Fred, or Bob. I don't know what those mean, I better google them.
 @JTesla  @Oh I know what Bob means and I didn't have to google it. =)
 @Oh My Uh...elephants are not from North America...so, a name like Jaidee makes more sense, since elephants are from Asia and Africa.  Just sayin.
I think the zoo wanted to name her Lily, which was the only pretty name, the other names were ugly sounding. Lily is a beautiful name for a beautiful little elephant!
 @QuandoQuandoQuando How right you are and a name adults & kids can relate to as well!!
Lily is OK, but I would have preferred "Me-Tu".
The most popular girls' name at the moment, and she gets it. Not thrilled, as a Coco connection would have been a lovely tribute to a former member of the zoo's neighborhood.Â
@washcomom Im still calling her Coco.
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 @washcomom Huh??? Â
Good, the other ones were lame.
Kim Smith has not resigned yet? WHY?
Well since she is owned by an entertainment company, it really does not matter what we call her because she will soon leave and entertain rich kids at birthday parties until she is too big to be ridden by 8 year olds and sent back to the zoo to breed some more calves.
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 @Repoman Bad kitty as you get slapped with the fly-swatter of truth...
@boned .....time to go to bed.