Denver Zoo: Help Name Twin Red Panda Cubs

DENVER, CO -- Denver Zoo needs your help naming male red panda cub twins, born in late August, who are finally making their first public appearance.

Zookeepers have suggested some names:

• Oolong and Chai … two types of tea
• Pabu and Sabal … Pabu means "puffball" and Sabal means "strong one"
• Peyton and Eli … for Denver Bronco fans.

You can vote until October 26 on the zoo's website. The winning names will be announced in social media posts, the zoo said.

The ginger-haired twins were born Aug. 27. They've been staying out of view in a nest box with their mother, Faith, the zoo reported in September. You'll be able to see the cubs wrestle with each other and with their father, Hamlet, in the zoo's red panda enclosure later this fall.

This is both parents' second litter, the zoo said. Mother Faith came to Denver from Trevor Park Zoo in New York and Hamlet from Toronto Zoo, in 2015 under a breeding recommendation, which "ensures healthy populations and genetic diversity among zoo animals," the zoo said in a statement.

The couple’s first litter, cubs Lali and Masu, were born at Denver Zoo in June 2016. Lali moved to Scovill Zoo in Illinois and Masu moved to Norfolk Zoo in Virgina this year.

Red pandas, classified as an endangered species, are native to Asia and are most commonly found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Their fur is red and they have "off-white markings, large puffy tails and pointed ears." Similar to giant pandas, red pandas have very specialized diet requirements and eat a large amount of bamboo daily, the zoo said in a press release.

Red pandas are part of the Global Species Management Plan (GSMP) in zoos around the world.

Image via Denver Zoo