SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Zoo’s panda cub finally has a name: Zhen Zhen, or Precious.

Following Chinese tradition, the zoo waited until the cub, which was born Aug. 3, was 100 days old before giving her a name Monday.

According to zoo officials, Zhen Zhen (pronounced shen shen) won out over 2,400 names submitted by zoo visitors.

The other choices were Li Hua, or Beautiful China; Ming Zhu, or Bright Treasure; and Xiao Li, or Little Beauty.

The cub is still living out of public view in a private den with her mother, but can be seen via the zoo’s Web cam.

Zhen Zhen is the third cub born to Bai Yun and her consort, Gao Gao, since 2003. The panda couple has been one of the most reproductively successful ever in captivity.

Pigeon racers petition queen for sport status

LONDON – Pigeon racers are petitioning Queen Elizabeth II to have their activity officially classified as a sport.

The Belford Racing Pigeon Club hopes the British monarch, the patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, will intervene in a dispute that could see them pay millions of dollars in taxes, chairman Eric Sim said.

Racers, known as “pigeon fanciers,” house their birds in sheds – buildings the British government now wants to tax, beginning in April. Sports clubs can get tax relief, but pigeon racing is not classified as a sport, which would leave racers footing a hefty tax bill.

Even if it’s not officially classified a sport, “pigeon racing has been recognized as a sport for well over 100 years and this latest turn of events will cause many clubs to struggle to make ends meet,” Sim said.

Local representative Geoff O’Connell said he wanted to raise the matter with British tax authorities.

“It is little to ask the government to show some sympathy towards this group of people by reversing this latest decision and recognizing this activity is a sport,” O’Connell said.

From Associated Press reports