Three leopard cubs born at Pinnawala Zoo have been named Thiyo, Kylo and Heela following a public naming contest, Daily Mirror reported.
The cubs made their first public appearance at an educational programme held at the zoo on 17 August 2026 to mark World Cat Day. The report was published on 7 September, three weeks after the event.
The naming contest
The public was invited to suggest names for the three cubs, and nearly 500 entries were received from across the country. A committee reviewed the submissions before settling on the three chosen names.
Sakura Wickramasinghe of Kelaniya, Bathiya Rathnayake of Kandy and Nuzair of Orugodawatte were selected as the respective winners and received prizes during the programme.
The wider programme
The event was built around awareness and conservation of Sri Lanka’s wild cat species, aimed particularly at children and young people. It featured a lecture on the country’s small cat species by Professor Nihal Dayawansa of the University of Colombo.
Participants included students of Sujatha College, Rambukkana, the Wildlife Exploration Team of Pinnawala National School, members of the Young Zoologists Association of the Department of National Zoological Gardens, and Pinnawala Zoo staff.
The Sri Lankan leopard is classified as a vulnerable subspecies found only on the island. Captive breeding at the state zoos has drawn attention before — Sri Lankan leopard cubs bred abroad made their public debut at Singapore Zoo earlier.
Daily Mirror did not give the cubs’ date of birth, their sexes, or the names of their parents, and no other verified newsroom had reported the naming at the time of writing.
