Docklands’ babies have been named

Docklands’ favourite wild baby animals have officially been named following a community-wide naming competition as part of Yarra’s Edge developer Mirvac’s Wild About Babies public sculpture experience.

The name submissions were judged by a panel that consisted of Mirvac’s general manager residential Victoria Elysa Anderson, WWF-Australia’s impact partnerships manager Vanessa Calvert, and Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Zeta Thomson.

The 20 baby animal statues along Yarra’s Edge were created by internationally renowned artists Gillie and Marc, who partnered with developer Mirvac to raise awareness for vulnerable endangered species.

“Over the years we’ve travelled all over the world studying animals. These babies are the products of the many photographs and sketches we’ve taken,” Gillie said.

“We’ve tried to make them as life-like as possible so that once people see these animals they will fall in love and be inspired to take action to save them.”

Overlooking the babies is a three-metre-high eastern lowland gorilla who now goes by the name of Gaia.

The winning name of the mother statue, which was designed to be a representation of a protector of the baby statues, stands for the goddess of the earth.

In addition to having the selected names engraved on the babies’ plaques, winners received a Gillie and Marc print valued at $849 and had $100 donated to WWF-Australia by Mirvac in their name.

The winning Wild About Babies names:

Maverick the baby leopard.

Sotla the baby polar bear.

Waru the baby rock wallaby.

Wayang the baby Javan rhino.

Adwaita the baby giant tortoise.

Kamali the baby white rhino.

Ursula the baby Marsican brown bear.

Nerida the baby hippo.

Chi the baby giant panda.

Alasie the baby Arctic fox.

Hope the baby cheetah.

Neroli the baby Sumatran orangutan.

Kirabo the baby African elephant.

Angel the baby giraffe.

Indraa the baby Bengal tiger.

Nuria the baby western lowland gorilla.

Zuberi the baby lion.

Nefesh the baby Indian elephant.

Gombe the baby chimpanzee.

Visitors of the interactive animal conservation exhibition can still continue to engage with the endangered species through using the QR code provided on each animal’s plaque, which will provide more information on the species and allow for direct donations to be made towards WWF-Australia.

At the time of publishing, the baby Grevy’s zebra was still in the process of being named. •