Has a gorilla been named Harambe McHarambeface at a Chinese zoo after asking the public what the newborn should be called?

The fate of the new arrival at Jinhua zoo in China's central Zhejiang province was reportedly left in the public's hands, who rushed to the polls to cast their vote.

It was reported a total of 73,345 people voted for Harambe McHarambeface - mimicking the infamous Boaty McBoatface - and with 93% of the vote the gorilla was said to have been given the new name.

The moniker is a reference to the 17-year-old gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati Zoo after a four-year-old boy fell into its enclosure.

But the site - Boston Leader - who broke the story is being questioned by internet users as to the validity of the story.

Cincinnati Zoo shot the original Harambe after he dragged a boy through water when the child fell into its moat

Initially, Heijin was the front-runner with several hundred votes, but once the ballot was shared on social media, new options were added and Harambe McHarambeface stormed into the lead, according the Boston Leader.

They reported a zoo official told local media they had been overwhelmed by the amount of interest shown overseas.

After confirming it will honour the public vote, the official said it would have to offer it an alternative Chinese name, adding: 'It is nearly impossible to render Harambe McHarambeface in the Chinese language, so we hope those who voted will accept that we have decided to give him a different Chinese name.

'We do hope it will attract more foreign visitors in the future,' the Boston Leader reported.

MailOnline has been in contact with Jinhua zoo, but received no response.

And, according to a Chinese news outlet, it might be no surprise.

That's Mag claim that the zoo has not updated its website since 2013, and its social media accounts were last in action in may.

It also said although the zoo exists, it does not have any gorillas listed.

The Boston Leader, which claims to have been bringing you Boston's best news since 1932, only set its website up last week.

It comes after a Philadelphia zoo ruled out naming one of its newborns Harambe after a public vote.

Harambe is a reference to the 17-year-old gorilla shot dead in a Cincinnati zoo after a four-year-old boy fell into its enclosure.

Isiah Dickerson was with his mother Michelle Gregg at Cincinnati Zoo, Ohio, when he somehow made his way through a barrier, into a moat - and was lifted up by Harambe.

Within minutes the 17-year-old 450lb silverback was killed by zookeepers who feared for Isiah's safety.

But the decision has sparked a backlash, with calls for the boy's parents to be prosecuted and animal lovers saying the ape was trying to protect the boy when it was shot.

Harambe was seen on camera standing guard in the corner of the moat and witnesses said the gorilla looked like he was trying to protect the boy from panicked bystanders

Soon after the incident, Michelle Gregg, 32, posted a message on Facebook saying: 'I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today. What started off as a wonderful day turned into a scary one.

'For those of you that have seen the news or been on social media that was my son that fell in the gorilla exhibit at the zoo. God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him.

'My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes... no broken bones or internal injuries.

'As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids.

'Accidents happen but I am thankful that the right people were in the right place today.'

The family released a statement on Sunday saying they had taken their boy home from the hospital.

It read: 'We are so thankful to the Lord that our child is safe. He is home and doing just fine.

'We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff.

'We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla.

'We hope that you will respect our privacy at this time.'

The family have been subject to death threats.

The zoo, however, is and is also now the subject of a complaint to the United States Department of Agriculture, which regulates safety for animals and visitors.

Outraged animal lovers took to social media declaring the western lowland gorilla's life was unnecessarily taken, as thousands joined the 'Justice for Harambe' movement.

The original Harambe, which was shot dead at Cincinnati Zoo

Earlier this year, Harambe McHarambeface's inspiration Boaty McBoatface hit the headlines after the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) opened the naming of one of its boats to the public.

Boaty McBoatface has officially topped a poll over the name for a new polar research ship as the competition launched by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) closed.

The suggestion received 124,109 votes - more than three times that of its closest contender.

However, the £200 million research vessel's naming rights came at the discretion of science minister Jo Johnson. who opted fore the more pragmatic fifth-most popular choice of RRS Sir David Attenborough.

An artist's impression of the polar research ship which pranksters voted to name Boaty McBoatface

The name was put forward by former BBC radio presenter James Hand, who has since apologised and said the storm it created had 'legs of its own'.

He said that while he stands by Boaty McBoatface as a 'brilliant name' for a boat, he actually voted for RRS David Attenborough to be the new name.

The second most-voted name was the RRS Poppy-Mai - named after a 16-month-old girl whose father 'married' her in an attempt to give her the wedding of her dreams after it was revealed she had incurable cancer.

The RRS Henry Worsley, named after the explorer who died trying to make the first unassisted solo crossing of the Antarctic in January, was the third most popular with more than 15,000 votes.

As the poll closed in May the NERC thanked everyone for their suggestions on its website posting: ‘We are no longer accepting suggestions to name our ship as we have now reached the closing date of April 16.

‘We’ve had an extremely high volume of suggestions and will now review all of the suggested names.

'The final decision will be announced in due course.’