Competition judge Torin Douglas plumps for androgynous name

Our competition to name the seal drew a huge response with a wide range of ideas for what to call the new Thames resident.

Popular suggestions included Oliver (after Oliver's Island), Cecilia and Camilla. Whether the latter was chosen as a reference to a certain royal consort or as a feminine version of Camille which was the forename of Pissarro is not clear.

Either way competition judge Torin Douglas, the BBC's media correspondent, chose the name Slipper. He explained his choice by saying, " I'm not sure how they know it's female so I've gone for something gender-neutral and alliterative".

Although the seal is often assumed to be female, and there have been some unconfirmed reports of sightings with cubs, there has been no authoritative gender identification by an expert.