Masai Village Meeting House
Woodland Park Zoo has an ambitious mission. Not only does it rescue endangered wildlife, it sponsors conservation programs around the world. There is the snow leopard trust, western pond turtle recovery, tree kangaroo program, and Indonesian veterinary training, to name a few projects.
The zoo is open every day of the year. There are nearly 1400 animals in naturalistic habitats. Almost 300 employees tend to the animals. Over 700 volunteers are there to ensure that visitors have a good time. An average of 7,000 to 8,000 guests visit the 92-acre zoo daily! If you visited every habitat, you would be walking for six miles!
A convenient place to stay when visiting Seattle is Watertown Hotel at 4242 Roosevelt Way N.E. It's a ten-minute ride to the zoo by car or bus. Watertown has full amenities including parking, swimming pool, continental breakfast, TV, Wi-Fi, and complimentary bicycles.
Our first walkabout took us to the African Savannah. The village is a replica of the huts in Kenya. A member of the Masai Tribe is an interpreter. The large community hut is a place for meetings, weddings and celebrations. In rural Africa, people and animals share the same plain. Giraffes, zebra and oryx (gazelles) feed on different levels of trees, shrubs and grass. An electric barrier separates them from predators, such as lions. They can smell the predators but aren't stressed by being unprotected.
The oldest giraffe is 22 and 18 feet tall. Two teenagers are 14 and 16 feet tall. Their tongues are 18 inches long which help them strip leaves from the trees. You can experience a real zoo moment if you are on the path when the giraffes cross from their barn at 10 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. Here you can appreciate how tall giraffes really are!
Did you know the hippopotamus is the second most dangerous animal after the crocodile? They are vegetarian, but very territorial. There are three hippos in the savannah. Gert is a 45-year old mother of two daughters. Lilly likes to tease her sister, Lupe. Once Lilly tossed 3,000- pound Lupe 6 feet into the air. Gert spends most of the time keeping the two separated. Their blubber is not for warmth, but to help them float. They can stay cool under water for 5 minutes.
Lions live in a pride. Most males live as bachelors while females raise the cubs. When the King of Beasts hears his mate coming, he playfully rolls on his back as she passes by. She beckons for him to come into the sunshine.
There are other landscapes for Patas monkeys, African wild dogs, and the Southern Mask Weaver bird aviary. They live in loving family groups and each has daily responsibilities and chores.--Shirley Ruble