Public picks their favorite names for rescued lion cubs

After more than 100 people submitted nearly 200 possible names for the two mountain lion cubs rescued in Burbank last month, these two names were your favorite: Olive and Magnolia.

Readers voted in an online poll where Olive and Magnolia took the top spot with 125 votes. LaserFur and the Fangster came in second with 57 votes, Scratchy and Itchy with 45, Lucy and Ethel with 38, Hope and Carson with 34, and Willow and Laurel with 24, respectively.

David Jackson, the executive director of Zoo to You, where the cubs are being rehabilitated, wanted the public to submit names that reflect the cubs’ Burbank origins.

The idea, Jackson said, was to make it clear to people that we really and truly live among these animals. We share our space and, to some degree, our lives with these creatures.

Lynn Bernard Maddox was the first to submit the names Olive and Magnolia and will receive $20 in gift cards to either Starbucks or iTunes.

Olive and Magnolia are main Burbank thoroughfares, Willow and Laurel relate to the local flora, and Hope and Carson are an homage to local celebrities.
Lucy and Ethel as well as Itchy and Scratchy speak on Burbank’s entertainment background, and LaserFur and the Fangster seem more random, but could be a comic book reference.

Olive and Magnolia and all of the other names will be submitted to Jackson. Stay tuned.

-- Katie Landan, Times Community News

Twitter: @katielandan