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Calgary Zoo unveils names of twin red panda cubs

Twin red pandas play in the snow at the Calgary Zoo. (Calgary Zoo) Twin red pandas play in the snow at the Calgary Zoo. (Calgary Zoo)
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The Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute has announced the names of the newest members of the red panda pack.

The twin cubs were born on June 11 to parents Udaya and Linus and made their debut in the Exploration Asia exhibit in October.

Members of the public were invited to pick their names through an online vote that closed on Monday.

On Tuesday, the zoo revealed the winning names were Sundari (pronounced SOON-duh-ree) for the female and Ravi (pronounced RA-vy) for the male.

Nepali names were selected as Nepal is one of the primary countries where red pandas live in the wild.

In Nepali, Sundari means "beautiful" and Ravi means "sun."

The zoo says the scientific name for red pandas is "ailurus fulgens," meaning "shining or fire-coloured cat."

"It seemed only fitting to theme the names for our feisty duo around something equally as fiery – the sun," said the zoo in a Facebook post.  

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