Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Vote For a Geo-Oddity Bear

THE POLLS HAVE CLOSED. WE LOST. CHASKA WON

Regular reader “Craig” commented on my recent post, Geo-Oddities Go Hollywood. He was wondering if I was aware that the National Zoo in Washington, DC was considering naming one of its Andean bears after a geo-oddity. I hadn’t known about it so I followed the link that Craig provided and went over to the National Zoo website.

It get’s even better. It’s a contest! They’ll name the bears, one male and one female, based on choices that get the most votes. One of the options for the female bear is Roraima. As the zoo explains,

This is a popular female name in Venezuela in honor of the beautiful Mount Roraima in the Amazon region. The mountain includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana.

That’s right, we have the chance to name a bear after an international tripoint. However you need to move quickly because the polls remain open only through May 17, 2010. I voted once from my office and once from home. I hope some of you are able to do the same. The interface is a little odd. First click on the name, which will turn the text red, and then click on the “Vote Now” button.

I promised in my response that if Roraima wins I will get to the zoo as soon as I can and take some photos. I stand by that offer. I’ll definitely be running down there if it happens.

Check it out!

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Comments

3 responses to “Vote For a Geo-Oddity Bear”

  1. Craig Avatar
    Craig

    I also voted for “Churun” for the male bear, as it was the only male name offered that was also a geographical formation – in this case a high Andean river.

    Reply
  2. Matthias Avatar
    Matthias

    Hi,

    I’m currently reading ‘Blue Highways’ from William Least Heat Moon, and at one point he can’t remember any county not named after a man or an Indian tribe… What percentage of counties would this category make? And what if we exclude the counties named after a river?

    Reply
    1. Twelve Mile Circle Avatar
      Twelve Mile Circle

      You’re going to love the post I have planned for tomorrow. It doesn’t answer your question but it does have lots of things named after men, Indian tribes and rivers.

      Reply

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