Offspring of Famous Toronto Capybaras Named After Members of Rush
Canadian rock trio Rush have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Canadian Music Hall of Fame and received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. So what is left to accomplish after all this success? How about having three dog-sized rodents named after you?
Yes, that’s right, the triplet offspring (seen in the video above) of the famous Toronto zoo capybara duo, Bonnie and Clyde, have been named after the band’s singer/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart. Last May, the pair escaped from the zoo and went on the lam for 36 days. After the giant rodents were captured and returned to the zoo, Bonnie got pregnant and gave birth to three “capybabies” in February.
A few months later, the public was tapped for name suggestions and the zoo received more than 12,000 of them. A short list was decided and another call went out to the public to vote for their favorite trio of names. More than 40,000 votes were cast. The winning monikers -- Geddy, Alex and Neil -- were announced yesterday as part of a celebration at the capybara’s pen at High Park Zoo in Toronto. The short list included Snap, Crackle and Pop, and Mocha, Chino and Latte.
"We are thrilled to hear that three cute, little furry creatures from South America now bear our names,” Lee said in a statement. “Thanks to all who voted to give us this special honor! By the way, which one is me? In the picture I saw, none of them were wearing glasses.”
Lifeson, who is in Europe, told Billboard, "Ahhh, so this is what happened when their mom and dad ran away! It is really a very cool honor to have these triplets named after us and many thanks to all who voted."
The zoo has been around since the late 1800s and is also home to bison, llamas, peacocks, reindeer, highland cattle, wallabies, emus and sheep. It's free to the public to visit and attracts over 600,000 visitors each year.
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