Ocean Park Hong Kong has started a campaign to get members of the public to submit name suggestions for a crocodile found in Pat Heung last year. The female crocodile, which was under the custody of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department when it was first discovered, was transferred to Ocean Park in April.
Park authorities will accept submissions on their campaign website until January 31, 2024. Each participant must suggest both a Chinese and an English name, and explain the concept behind the name. The student conservation group Ocean Park’s Seahorse Rangers will first select a name between February 19 and 29. This will be followed by a second selection round from March 4-12, during which members of the public can vote for one of five shortlisted names for the crocodile on the park’s social media pages.
Ocean Park will announce the crocodile’s name on March 12. Whoever submits the winning name will win four annual Ocean Park memberships, four tickets to the park’s Get Closer to the Animals programmes, and a food and beverage voucher worth HK$2,000. There are prizes for individuals whose submissions make it to the top four, such as general admission tickets, passes for the park’s special programmes, and F&B vouchers.
The crocodile was first spotted by a resident of Lin Fa Tei in the New Territories area of Pat Heung last year, and was an important find as crocodiles are not native to Hong Kong. The reptile was examined by Ocean Park and found to weigh 35 kilos, and measure 1.9 metres long. Estimates place the crocodile at around four years old at the time it was adopted by the park. It is currently housed at the park’s back-of-house area, but will make its debut as a park exhibit soon.
Image credits: Ocean Park Hong Kong
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