TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired in October 2023.
The three cheetah cubs who were born this summer at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler officially have names, including one with an East Texas hometown connection.
Earlier this week, the zoo revealed the winning names as Tua, Patrick and Jalen. The announcement comes after a social media contest was used to vote for name themes. The winning selection came from the legendary quarterbacks category.
"Thousands have voted for the perfect names for our three cheetah cubs, and we are thrilled to introduce Tua, Patrick and Jalen," the zoo's Facebook post read. "Stop by the zoo to enjoy this gorgeous weather and say hello to the three precious boys!"
Patrick refers to Whitehouse native and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Jalen refers to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Tua refers to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tuanigamanuolepola Donny "Tua" Tagovailoa.
The other two categories were Swahili animal names and super speed.
The Swahili name group was Kiboko, Twiga and Kifaru, while the speed theme was Jet, Zoom and Flash. In English, Kiboko means hippopotamus, Twiga means giraffe and Kifaru means rhinoceros.
The Caldwell Zoo is a member of the Cheetah Breeding Coalition, which is the Tyler zoo works closely with other accredited zoological organizations to responsibly breed the endangered species. Some of the dangers that hurt the cheetah population include habitat loss and poaching.
The cubs' mother, Orchid, came to Tyler from the White Oak Conservation Center in Florida. She was carefully introduced to suitors, Flap and Junya, from the Cincinnati Zoo. She selected Flap as her mate and the three cubs are the offspring of their union.