One of the Tulsa Zoo’s newest penguins is described as sweet, gentle and calm.
His name is “River,” first inspired by his ID number 4242, prompting zoo staff to think of names related to Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera.
The Tulsa Zoo asked the public to name one of their newest baby penguins. He gave voters three options: River, Robbie and Sandy.
It’s rare for the Tulsa Zoo to ask the public to name an animal, but the zoo is celebrating the African Penguin Exhibit being open for 20 years and gave the public three options for naming a baby penguin.
Taylor Harris is the Zoological Supervisor for the Zoo’s Bird Department. She spends a lot of time near River.
“They each have their own personality, or I like to say ‘penguinality,’ since they’re not people. They have their own quirks,” Harris said. “She’s just a very sweet, gentle and calm penguin.”
Harris said that now that River is three months old, she is no longer considered a “girl” but rather a “minor.” River is a second generation Tulsan.
“She was born to her parents Dassen and Ireland, which is actually quite surprising because they were actually born here at the Tulsa Zoo as well.”
Some 10,000 voters chose between the three names: River, Robbie and Sandy. “Robbie” for Jackie Robinson; “River” was inspired by Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees. “Sandy,” short for Sandman, is one of Rivera’s nicknames.
“We would have been happy with either of the other two names as well, but River, we were very happy that that was also chosen by the public,” Harris said.
Now that River has a name, she can focus on swimming, eating and learning.
“She has to learn her place in the colony,” Harris said. “She needs to learn where she goes, where she doesn’t; she doesn’t go to other nest boxes, things like that.”
The public can come out and see River at the zoo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, as long as the outside temperature is above freezing.
