SAN ANTONIO — Move over Spurs Coyote. There's a new mascot in town.
The San Antonio Zoo asked the community for help in naming its first-ever mascot, a rhino. The name they chose? Cowboy.
The eight rhino name options originally were:
- Sazoombi: creatively contains “SA Zoo” in the name!
- Stark: the last name of San Antonio’s Zoo’s past director, Fred Stark
- Jambo: “hello” in Swahili
- Jefe: “the boss” in Spanish
- Shaka: name of the first male white rhino born at San Antonio Zoo
- Brack: short for Brackenridge Park, the park where you can find San Antonio Zoo
- Crash: a group of rhinos is called a “crash”
- Cowboy: Nickname of the late son of Susan Naylor, San Antonio Zoo board member and long-time supporter of the zoo. Will Smith, 8, loved the outdoors, nature, and especially spending time with his mom at the zoo. Click here to learn more about Will and the Will Smith Foundation.
Final votes were in by Monday and the Zoo's employees came up with their favorite rhino names. The rhino is Earth’s second-largest land animal.
Wondering why the Zoo would pick a rhino as a mascot?
“San Antonio Zoo’s logo features two iconic animals, the giraffe and the rhino, which are both on the brink of extinction and both of which are species that we are working to save," said Tim Morrow, President & CEO, San Antonio Zoo. "It’s fitting to unveil the rhino as our first-ever mascot who will educate and spread awareness not only here at the zoo, but around San Antonio.”
Currently, the Zoo has two Southern white rhinos, Nyota and Ophelia. Zoo officials say they plan to introduce a “real” male rhino so as to continue to increase the population. There have been 20 rhino births at the zoo, which was the first facility in North America to successfully birth a white rhino in 1972. The last rhino baby was born in 2004.
Fun facts: A male rhinoceros is called a bull. A female rhino is referred to as a cow. A young rhino is known as a calf. And a group of rhinoceros (as mentioned earlier in the name choices) is called a "crash."