Toronto Capybaras Named After Members of Rush
Some of Toronto's most famous rodents now have new names, courtesy of three of the city's favorite rock 'n' roll sons.
The Canadian Press reports that Bonnie and Clyde, a pair of capybaras housed at Toronto's High Park Zoo, recently had triplets — and a contest held to decide what their names should be ended in a landslide victory for Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
Although runner-up options like "Snap, Crackle and Pop" and "Mocha, Chino and Latte" received a handful of votes, in the end, it really wasn't close — according to the report, of the nearly 45,000 people who cast ballots, more than 30,000 voted to name the baby capybaras Geddy, Alex and Neil.
As Toronto residents are already aware, the proud new parents achieved local notoriety last May when they escaped from the zoo — and remained at large for an extended period of time, with one returned to captivity mid-June and the other eluding capture until late in the month. A spokesperson for the zoo told reporters that Bonnie and Clyde's headline-grabbing adventure has been credited with rekindling their passion, with the triplets the evident end result.
"Ahhh, so this is what happened when their mom and dad ran away!" Lifeson told Billboard. "It is really a very cool honor to have these triplets named after us, and many thanks to all who voted."
We are thrilled to hear that three cute little furry creatures from South America now bear our names," added Lee. “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."
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