With the joyous news of giant panda Shin Shin having delivered a healthy cub at Ueno Zoo back in mid-June, much pandamonium ensued. And for good reason: after all, it was the first panda baby born at a Tokyo zoo in a good five years. Fast forward to a few months later, and although the little black-and-white ball of fur is in great shape, she's (yes, it's a she) missing one thing: a name.
Luckily for us, Ueno Zoo have decided to outsource the decision by opening the floor to the public. That's right: you get to submit your preferred name for the cub – in katakana – with the grand prize being, well, the knowledge that you named a panda. Repeating names (Shin Shin, Li Li, Ling Ling... no, not Ri Ri yet) are common and will probably stand a good chance, so you might want to stick to that rather than submitting Kung Fu Panda.
Note that you'll have to submit a valid Japanese address and telephone number alongside your favourite name in katakana. The competition is open from Friday July 28 until midnight on Thursday August 10, while the name will be officially announced in September – which is when the cub will be past the 100-day mark said to be imperative to its survival. May the odds ever be in your favour...