Zoos should call the creatures by name

Meet Aloysius the Alligator. Say hello to LaToya the Llama. Esther the Elephant is pleased… Meet Aloysius the Alligator. Say hello to LaToya the Llama. Esther the Elephant is pleased to make your acquaintance.

These phrases haven’t been uttered at the Pittsburgh Zoo since 1990, when zoo director Barbara Baker decided that the animals there would no longer be referred to by names.

Her reason?

She wanted to preserve their “wild mystique,” she said in a statement issued Tuesday. The thinking behind the gesture was sound, even respectful of the animals as wild creatures and not human playthings. But the zoo is reconsidering its decision, and rightly so. The zoo is accepting public comment on the matter and will make a final decision next month.

Most zoos feature names for their animals. The Pittsburgh Zoo has the only baby African elephant at any zoo on the continent, and she’s only referred to as “V” — not exactly the most publicity-grabbing moniker. Pittsburgh should be bragging about her, but without a name, it’s harder to do that. The National Aviary, also in Pittsburgh, brings in visitors with Stanley, the baby penguin.

The notion of preserving a wild mystique is a thorny one. The animals are creatures of the earth, but, whatever spin we put on it, referring to “habitats” and open areas, they are still locked up in cages. Not exactly wild.

So, in that context, not naming the animals does them a disservice, and only serves to highlight the unnaturalness of their situation. It’s a human instinct to name things. We name our pets, our cars and our guitars. If we want to share our environment with animals, it makes sense to name them, too.

Research has shown that kids form more of a bond with named animals, and this makes sense. It’s easier to identify with Willie the Gorilla than with Silverback No. 3. So, if children visit the zoo and are impressed watching Javier the Hippo, it’s more likely that, later in life, issues of conservation and stewardship will make more sense to them.

The animals in the zoo come from all over the world. They could be given geographically appropriate names — Zawadi the Zebra, anyone? — which will also be good for kids by exposing them to foreign culture early on.

Getting people to care about animals is a lot easier when they have names. The single greatest blow to hunting? A cute little deer named Bambi.