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NC Zoo Asks Public To Help Name Adopted Polar Bear

The North Carolina Zoo is home to a breeding pair of polar bears. Pictured is female Anana. Image courtesy of the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro.

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro has adopted a wild polar bear. The organization is asking the public to pick a name for it.

The zoo adopted her through the Polar Bears International conservation program. She lives with her two cubs in the western Hudson Bay area of Canada. The public can follow her travels online because she's wearing a GPS collar to track her movements.

Polar bear populations in the wild are considered "vulnerable" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The North Carolina Zoo has served as an official Arctic Ambassador Center for PBI since 2009. It's already home to a breeding pair of polar bears.

Zoo officials have created an online public poll to help name the animal. Some of the choices include “Yura,” which means “one who is beautiful” in Inuit, “Tapeesa,” which means “Artic flower” and “Carolina.”

Voting began this week on the zoo's social media channels. The winning name will be announced on Nov. 20.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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