Public's help wanted to name two grizzly bear cubs at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

EATONVILLE, Wash. — Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is asking for the public’s help in naming two grizzly bear cubs that arrived at the park after being orphaned in the wild.

“We are excited to give our guests an opportunity to vote for their favorite names for these two engaging grizzly bear cubs,” said zoological curator Marc Heinzman. “It’s important to us that they have names that reflect their Northwest roots.”

Traditionally, Northwest Trek zookeepers have named animals after locations in the Pacific Northwest or after iconic trees, plants and flowers native to the region.

Park officials said one cub, from Alaska, was found alone near Nome after poachers killed his mother, while the other cub, from Montana, was alone found on Blackeet Nation Land after his mother was killed.

The following names have been suggested for the orphaned cub from Alaska:

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- Hawthorne, a name derived from the large, diverse group of thorny shrubs and small trees known as hawthorns that are native to the Northwest.

- Kenai (pronounced keen-eye) an Athabascan word for which a city, geographic peninsula and river in Southeast Alaska are named.

- Sitka, a word derived from the Tlingit language meaning "people on the outside of Baronof Island." It is the name of a city that was once the capital of Alaska, as well as the name of a type of spruce tree.

The following names have been suggested for the orphaned cub from Montana:

- Bandera, a mountain in the Snoqualmie region of the Cascades.

- Glacier, the name of a national park and county in Montana. Glacier also is the name for a geographic feature that is a slow-moving mass of ice on a mountain.

- Huckleberry, a small plant that bears blue, red or black berries. Wild huckleberries are a staple of grizzly bears' diets in the wild.

Northwest Trek officials said no date has been set for the cub’s public unveiling, but it is expected to be “soon” and the winning names will be revealed at that time.

Click here to vote for one name for each cub.

Click here for more information on Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.

Cox Media Group