Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Kapok Tree


This week we had another big event happen in Tropical Encounters. The Forestry Dept. came in to cut down the kapok tree which was touching the top of the glass structure in TE. The room at this point is 45 feet. Kapoks can grow up to 180 feet. Kapoks are a very fast growing tree. In order to cut the tree down the forester needed to climb up the tree, tie a rope to it and knotch the tree so it will fall in the direction he wanted it to. Then he pulled on the rope in a controlled manner from the ground. This routine was repeated several times. We did leave a 12 foot section and this will resprout. Please come and look at the shorter kapok in Tropical Encounters.