Caitlin Clark adds another honor to repertoire — rare Iowa zoo monkeys share her name

Caitlin Clark, at only 22, is busy piling on honor after honor in the basketball world — and now she can add yet another to her name. Two little ones have adopted the former Iowa Hawkeye’s literal name.

On Feb. 22, the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines was blessed with the birth of two cotton-top tarmarins, an endangered species of monkey, McClatchy News originally reported. The zoo announced that they were asking fans to name the duo in a post on its Facebook page.

And, of course, Iowians chose the name of the newest Indiana Fever player.

“We’d like to introduce you to . . . Caitlin and Clark,” the May 2 post said.

“We’re SO happy to share that the cotton-top tamarin twins (born on February 22, 2024) officially have names! With a total of 1,132 votes total throughout the past week, Caitlin and Clark had 535 of those votes. WOW! 302 votes for Alina and Arturo, and 295 votes for Miguela and Tulio.”

Caitlin and Clark’s parents, Kida and Eddie, were part of a survival plan to preserve the endangered species when they were brought to the zoo.

“We were very hopeful that they would have babies this year,” Ryan Bickel with the Blank Park Zoo told McClatchy News.

The post went on to thank those who voted.

“We are thrilled to continue inspiring positive change for this critically endangered species. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote and donate on behalf of these precious babies. By supporting Blank Park Zoo, you are also supporting our local and global conservation efforts, including conservation partners like Proyecto Titi!”

People in the comment section were overjoyed by the name choice.

“I hope you invite the Clark family to meet them and garner attention for this critically endangered breed,” one person said.

“It made me smile, so well done,” another said.

“Great names can’t wait to see them,” someone commented.

Clark is considered one of the greatest collegiate players of all time and is often compared to NBA point guard, Stephen Curry thanks to her shooting versatility, Today.com reported.

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