Name the Lion
When America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College added a female lion cub to its collection in 1998, the zoo turned to America’s children to come up with the name for the then 40-pound bundle of joy. Anchor Education created and implemented the Name the Lion contest in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and America’s Teaching Zoo.
The contest encouraged the children to learn about lions, and then use their creativity to select a name for the creature and submit their artistic rendering of the cub. Given that most of us will never have the opportunity to observe this magnificent animal up close, a lion curriculum was created by America’s Teaching Zoo Director Gary Wilson to help the children understand the behavior of these marvelous cats.
This drawing, submitted by 10-year-old Christina L. Clout, features not only the lion cub "Kenya" but Kenya's mom and dad.
Lions in Your Neighborhood enhanced children’s observation skills by encouraging them to study the King of the Jungle right on their own block ?the everyday domestic cat. How much do you know about the behavior of your neighborhood lion or its big cat relative? Just click here to learn more.
(The Name the Lion curriculum is in PDF file format. If you need Acrobat Reader to open and to review this file, click here to download this free software.)
Hundreds of names and drawings flooded in from Boys & Girls Clubs members from throughout the United States and military bases overseas. Inspired by the contest, Katie Harrington, of Chandler, Ariz., read more about lions on her own. From her studies, she struck upon a perfect name: Savannah.
"I choose the name Savannah for this cute little lion cub. The reason is because in Africa where the lions live the land where they wander is sometimes called a Savannah," Katie wrote in her submission. "Savannah is a land of green grass. You can find many lions in the land of Savannah."
Darrius White penned the name "Scare" for his lion cub.
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