Churchill students help name polar bear cub at zoo

The zoo's first orphaned polar bear cub from Churchill taken in during October 2013 is shown in Winnipeg, Man. at its new home. Students helped name the animal Aurora. (file image courtesy Assiniboine Park Zoo)

The Assiniboine Park Zoo announced Wednesday the name selected for its polar bear cub.

After a naming contest at Duke of Marlborough School in Churchill, a committee chose the name Aurora that had been suggested by two students, said the zoo.

The name pays tribute to the northern lights in the Churchill, said zoo officials.

The 11-month-old orphaned cub now named Aurora was transported from Churchill to the zoo’s International Polar Bear Conservation Centre in Winnipeg in October.