The votes are in, and the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s newest polar bear has officially been named “Mantayo,” the zoo said on social media.
A record setting number of votes were cast during the polling process, which opened last week and closed Tuesday, according to the zoo’s post. Four names were on the ballot, all of which were nods to Churchill, Man., where the cub was found and rescued after his mom died.
Mantayo is derived from the Cree name for a large river in Churchill called “Mantayo Seepee” or “Mantayo Sîpî,” the zoo said. In English, that translates to the River of Strangers.
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The name beat out three competitors – Duke, Marly and Fletcher.
Duke and Marly honoured the local school that serves students from kindergarten to Grade 12 in Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough School, the zoo said.
Fletcher, like the winner, was also an homage to a northern Manitoba waterway, it added. The suggestion honoured Fletcher Lake, which is in Wapusk National Park – a common place for polar bear mothers to den with their cubs.
Mantyao has been welcoming visitors at the Assiniboine Park Zoo for longer than a week. He is expected to transition to be with the rest of the polar bears at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre when he reaches adulthood.
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