The Cincinnati Zoo's ten African painted dog pups finally have names.
The pups, six boys and four girls, were born in January.
Keepers decided on a Batman naming scheme based on identifying marks on each pup.
The names are: Riddler, Ivy, Bruce, Alfred, Oswald, Luke, Lucy, Selina, Hugo and Quinn. Check out how to tell them apart in the slideshow above.
Here's more about painted dogs:
Visitors will be able to see the pups in their exhibit (weather permitting) starting mid April. “With so many pups running around the yard, it’s going to be fun for visitors to try to tell them apart. Painted Dog Valley does offer very close viewing opportunities, but if only one white splotch differentiates one from another, good luck! I’m not sure I’ll know them all by name, but the keepers do and you can too!” said Thane Maynard, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Zoo. There are about 534 African painted dogs, also known as African wild dogs, in zoos worldwide including approximately 103 painted dogs at 34 AZA institutions in the United States. African painted dogs are known for their large, round ears and beautifully “painted”, multi-colored coats. At the turn of the 20th century there were more than 500,000 painted dogs in 39 countries. Today, there are only 3,000 dogs in Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa combined.
