The Akron Zoo’s snow leopard cub will make her public debut on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 10 – 11 a.m. The cub and her mom, Shanti, will be together in the snow leopard habitat.

Today, the cub selected the name of Baya, which is Nepali for Tamchy Bay on Lake Issuk Kul, in the region where the only rehabilitation center for snow leopards exists in Kyrgyzstan. The zoo held a public naming contest over the last couple weeks, asking people to vote on their favorite name. The voting narrowed the seven names down to three. The top three names – Bayara, Tuya and Baya – were presented to the cub and Shanti on enrichment. The enrichment item, a ball, that the cub touched first was the winning name. 

Baya was born on April 29 and her parents are Shanti and the zoo’s male snow leopard, Tai Lung. Shanti and Baya will be in the snow leopard habitat daily from 10 – 11 a.m. As the cub grows bigger, the time will be gradually increased. Tai Lung will be in the snow leopard habitat for the remainder of each day.