Maryland Zoo lets donors help name its younger red panda

The Maryland Zoo is asking Baltimore donors to turn a $20 entry into the chance to name its younger red panda, folding a viral animal moment into a fundraiser for animal care and conservation. The winner will help choose from three names, but the zoo will keep final control over the selection and plans to announce the name on July 2.

The contest launched June 11 and gives donors one entry for every $20 they give, with credit card and Venmo accepted and checks excluded. The donation is tax-deductible, and the winner will be invited to meet the red panda keeper team by June 29, either in person or virtually, before submitting three name ideas for the animal care staff to consider.

The younger red panda is about 1 year old and still does not have a name, while the older female, Aurora, is about 7. Both animals arrived at the zoo in April and spent time in the animal hospital before moving into their new habitat in Main Valley, near the former snowy owl area. The younger animal has a fluffier body, a whiter face, a blonder tail and curly whiskers, details that make the species easy to spot even for first-time visitors.

The naming drive lands at a moment when the Maryland Zoo is also trying to turn attention into support for a bigger capital and conservation story. The red panda habitat opened in June with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and was described by the zoo as the first time it had introduced a new species and a new habitat at the same time in more than 30 years, and the first new animal area in Main Valley since 2009. The project fits into the zoo’s 10-year Master Plan, which calls for future gibbon habitat development and a year-round destination called Conservation Commons, also known as the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Plaza.

The zoo’s 150th anniversary year adds another layer to the campaign. Founded on April 7, 1876, the Maryland Zoo is marking its sesquicentennial while using the red pandas to spotlight a species native to the Eastern Himalayas and classified as endangered. The zoo says red pandas are more closely related to raccoons than giant pandas, and that protecting the animals can also help preserve forest habitat more broadly.

City Council member James Torrence has said the zoo is a destination for all families and all backgrounds, a reminder that the contest is about more than naming rights. It is also a test of how Baltimore institutions now compete for attention, donations and a deeper connection with the public, one small contribution at a time.