Now through July 22, 2026, the Fort Wayne Zoo is inviting the community to help us name the five bat-eared fox kits that were born in May 2026.
Fort Wayne Zoo news release:
The Fort Wayne Zoo Invites Community to Name Bat-Eared Fox Kits
Fort Wayne Indiana (July 8, 2026) – Now through July 22, the Fort Wayne Zoo is inviting the community to help us name the five bat-eared fox kits that were born in May 2026. Born to first-time parents Ripley and Mkhuseli, there are four boys and one female kit.
For a $5 donation per vote, the community can select their favorite from a list of predetermined names, each inspired by their native habitat of the beautiful grasslands in eastern and southern Africa.
How to vote:
- Go to fwzoo.com
- On the homepage, click on the “Click here to name the kits” section
- You’ll be redirected to a donation page where you can select the kit you’d like to name and a dropdown list of names to choose from.
Each vote donation goes towards the care of the bat-eared foxes along with supporting the other 1,500 animals that call the Fort Wayne Zoo home. For guests looking for additional ways to support the kits, the Zoo has created an Amazon Wishlist dedicated towards enrichment and care items specifically for the kits.
“This a rare opportunity, not just to welcome the kits, but for our community to help name them.” Says Amy Lazoff, Vice President of Mission Impact. “Guests have loved seeing the kits and it’s incredibly rewarding to watch them grow and to see Ripley and Mkhuesli as first time parents. We can’t wait to see which names are chosen!”
About the Fort Wayne Zoo
The Fort Wayne Zoo is northeast Indiana’s largest tourist attraction, hosting more than 650,000 guests annually. The Zoo is home to Red Panda Ridge named #6 in USA Today 10 Best Zoo Exhibits for 2024. In 2021, the Zoo was voted Visit Indiana’s “Summer Bucket List Top Attraction” and is consistently named one of the nation’s Top Ten Zoos for Kids by national media outlets.The Zoo is a conservation leader, investing nearly $275,000 annually in local, regional, and international efforts to protect wildlife and their habitats. The Zoo cares for more than 1,500 animals and participates in 41 cooperative species survival plan programs and 42 taxon advisory groups, which are critical to supporting threatened species.
As a self-supporting facility, the Fort Wayne Zoo receives no tax dollars for daily operations, unlike most accredited zoos where those dollars fund approximately 40% of their annual operating budgets. The Zoo’s mission is made possible thanks to support derived from admissions, memberships, donations, group picnics, special ticketed events, and other visitation-related activities.
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