Scottsdale wildlife sanctuary reveals winning names for 2 mountain lion cubs

PHOENIX — A Scottsdale wildlife sanctuary released the official names of its two mountain lion cubs Friday.

This Scottsdale Wildlife Conservation Center announcement followed three weeks of paid voting.

The fundraiser event kicked off on Aug. 28, when the center said its two newest residents needed names.

“Although their arrival story is heart-breaking, we are so happy to have them with us safe and sound,” the center said on Facebook. “Now we need your help.”

The center released three sets of names for the public to vote on:

• Echo and Dash
• Alpine and Apache
• Zion and Brice

A total of 423 donors cast 3,852 votes for the names. The names Echo and Dash won by a landslide with 2,166 votes. The set of runner-up names, Alpine and Apache, earned 858 votes, the center said.

How did the cubs come to the Scottsdale wildlife sanctuary?

The cubs came from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, which found the lion cubs’ mother fatally injured by a car crash.

The mother died on her way back to her den, the center said. The orphaned brothers are now in a spacious indoor enclosure at 27026 N 156th St, Scottsdale. When they’re older, they’ll go to an outdoor enclosure with the sanctuary’s two adult mountain lions.

“While they may never experience the nurturing of their mother in the wild, they have found a loving sanctuary environment that will be their forever home,” the center said.