After a Facebook vote, Woodland Park Zoo's newest resident, a reticulated python now has a name.

Named after the unforgettable snake in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book the eight-year-old, 100 pound snake's name will be Kaa.

Kaa was introduced last week to the community and can be seen at the Day Exhibit during zoo hours.

Nearly 400 names were submitted to the zoo’s Facebook page to name the reticulated python. Out of the top five suggestions picked by the zoo, Kaa drew 44% of the votes in the follow-up poll that garnered nearly 500 votes.

The runner-up names were:

Sundara – “beautiful” in Hindi
Java – in honor of its roots in Southeast Asia and Seattle
Rimbo – “jungle” in Indonesian
Pogi – “good looking” in Tagalog (Filipino)

“I want to thank the community for helping us name our python. But don’t stop there. We hope the naming has inspired our community to come to the zoo and connect with our python in person and learn about and appreciate snakes,” said Woodland Park Zoo Curator Dr. Jennifer Pramuk. Like many reptiles, the reticulated python species is diminishing in numbers due to habitat destruction and hunting for their meat and skins to make leather products or souvenirs.

The reticulated python (Python reticulatus) is the longest snake in the world, with some rare specimens exceeding 30 feet in length and weighing 300 pounds, though its average size is 10 to 20 feet in length.

In other Zoo news, a female Steller’s sea eagle, estimated to be 14 years old, was euthanized over the weekend after re-injuring a fractured wing.

The eagle arrived last December as part of a breeding pair on loan from San Diego Zoo.

“She came to us with an existing wing injury sustained several years ago, and had been living quite successfully with her disability,” explained Woodland Park Zoo Curator Dr. Jennifer Pramuk. “She usually navigated her enclosure with minimal difficulty but it appears that she was injured after descending from a branch near their nest tree and landing abnormally.”

The zoo’s veterinary staff teamed up with the Animal Surgery Clinic of Seattle (ASCS) to perform specialized bone stabilization surgery on the injury after zookeepers found her on the ground. Since the surgery she had remained at the zoo’s animal hospital for treatment and close observation during recovery.

“The bird’s prognosis was always guarded, and bone infection was always a high risk outcome,” explained Woodland Park Zoo Director of Animal Health Dr. Darin Collins. “We had very high hopes for a positive post-operative recovery but her mobility and quality of life would have been severely compromised if the bone did not heal completely, which was the eventual outcome in this case."

Sea eagles are very rare, especially in zoos. The death of this eagle leaves only 16 remaining in North American zoos. “This is a significant loss for the species and for zoos,” said Pramuk. “During the short time she lived here, many of our guests were awed by her majestic beauty. We’ve lost a remarkable ambassador for the Steller’s sea eagle species.”

A male Steller’s sea eagle remains on exhibit at the zoo’s award-winning Northern Trail. The curatorial team will be working with colleagues to identify another female that can be paired with the male.