Say Hello To "Kona"
Melody Forshey
A photo of Kona, the Dallas Zoo's new baby chimp.
Five North Texans have won the naming contest for the Dallas Zoo's new baby chimp: "Kona."
The baby boy was born at 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 19.
Over 1,100 entries, some from places as far as Oregon, Minnesota, Montana and Connecticut, were submitted to the naming challenge.
The winning name comes from meshing the chimp's father, K.C., and mother, Ramona, names together.
“Contestants put a lot of thought into many of the names they submitted. It was a hard decision,” said Chuck Siegel, deputy director of animal management for the Dallas Zoo. “In addition to the creative combination of parents’ names, I think Kona will be easy for the little chimp to recognize when called to come in for dinner.”
The winners received a one-year family membership to the zoo along with a photo and certificate -- to back up boasting about being the little ape’s first "Adopt-An-Animal" parents.
Posted Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 - 9:44 PM CST
